Feedstock in, gas out, credits on top: digester economics stack a commodity, a contract, and a policy — and the study has to weigh each separately.
Renewable natural gas projects monetize waste streams three ways at once: tipping or feedstock agreements on the inbound, gas sales on the outbound, and environmental-attribute revenue — federal and state credit programs — layered on top. The layers have radically different risk: feedstock contracts with the host dairy or processor are negotiated and durable; gas offtake is contractual; attribute pricing is policy-dependent and volatile. A credible study presents coverage with the attribute layer stressed and stripped, because a project that only works at peak credit prices is a policy trade.
The technical dimension carries digester credits: feedstock characterization and volume commitments, digester technology’s performance record at comparable scale, gas-cleanup specifications against pipeline-injection standards, and the interconnect itself. Commissioning ramps in this category are long and biological — the bugs take months to stabilize — and the pro forma must fund the ramp.
The firm’s agricultural-energy work sits at the intersection of its dairy, processing, and USDA program practices — digesters are frequently Rural Development-financed and Reg 5001-reviewed — with the host-farm relationship analyzed as the concentration risk it is: one feedstock counterparty is one point of failure, and the study says so.
Engagements are typically initiated by the borrower, with lender or CDC confirmation obtained before work begins — institutions apply differing rules, so sponsors should confirm the required path with their lending contact — and are delivered in 10 to 15 business days from complete project data, and built to the program framework that governs the credit — SBA SOP 50 10 8 coverage minimums of 1.15x operating and 1.00x global, the 37-factor structure of USDA RD Instruction 5001, or the 1.20x convention of conventional credit policy — with a ten-year pro forma, sensitivity at ±5/10/15 percent, rate stress to +3.0 percent, and Monte Carlo analysis as standard equipment.
President, Wert-Berater, Inc. — independent feasibility study consultants since 1998. More than 4,000 feasibility studies completed across all 50 states and internationally, evaluating $40.2 billion in project value for SBA, USDA, EB-5, conventional, and institutional financing decisions. Fiduciary duty runs to the lender and agency in every engagement.
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Schedule a ConversationIndependent feasibility studies since 1998 — 4,000+ engagements, $40.2 billion in evaluated project value. Standard delivery in 10 to 15 business days. Fiduciary duty to the lender and agency.