Energy-focused PE firm commits $100M to natural-gas maker

BOULDER — Vision Ridge Partners LLC said it will put $100 million into building Vision RNG LLC, which plans to make renewable natural gas from the gases emitted by landfills.

Vision Ridge invests “in sustainable real assets at the forefront of energy transition,” a press release said.

Investments from its first two funds include firms involved in solar power, organic waste, water storage and water rights, aquaculture and agriculture, and electric vehicles including school buses and shipping.

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The two funds combined for about $1.1 billion in funding commitments. A third fund, which closed this year, had $1.25 billion in committed capital, the Vision Ridge website said.

Pittsburgh-based Vision RNG is part of the second fund.

It plans to sign up landfill owners to add equipment that converts landfill gas to renewable natural gas to turn waste materials into an energy source that can be sold.

Vision RNG will truck “partially processed landfill gas from several landfill sites to an off-site location” for processing, then blending “with pipeline quality gas before pipeline injection.”

Waste Not

Solid waste gas is produced by organic material decomposing in landfills, an Environmental Protection Agency website said. It’s half carbon dioxide and half methane. Methane is the main element of natural gas.

The idea is to keep the methane from the atmosphere — EPA said landfills are the third-largest source in the U.S. of human-related methane emissions — and turn it into energy. Vision RNG senior executives have experience in gas pipelines, compression infrastructure, and renewable biogas operations, the press release said.

The experience “positions them to identify LFG sites, address permitting and compliance needs, and develop on-site and off-site infrastructure to create renewable energy for society and value for our investors,” said Reuben Munger, Vision Ridge managing partner, in the press release.

Vision Ridge partners include Justin Goerke and George Polk. It also has a New York City office.

We’re “determined to be part of the solution by developing projects that safely convert waste emissions into projects that are not only marketable, but also environmentally friendly,” said Bill Johnson, Vision RNG CEO.

Vision RNG is doing early-stage development on projects in Virginia and Missouri and expects to start operations in the fourth quarter of 2022.

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