Nobles County Informational Presentation for Conditional Use

Permit

Vaca Verde RNG, LLC Project at Ocheda Dairy

June 30, 2023

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Novilla RNG Leadership Team
Mark Hill (Co-CEO)
 More than 14 years of experience in the RNG industry
in operational roles with experience managing,
developing, operating, and constructing landfill gas and
dairy RNG projects
 Mark held a series of operational roles with DTE
Biomass Energy, the largest operators of dairy RNG
projects, most recently serving as VP of Business
Development and Dairy RNG Operations where he was
responsible for the safety, operations, and profitability
of 21 landfill gas projects and 8 dairy RNG projects.
Matt Brubaker (CFO)
 Over 20 years of experience in public accounting,
financial reporting, and the accounting and sale of
renewable attributes associated with RNG.
 Previously the controller for DTE Biomass where he
oversaw the finances of 30 renewable energy
projects
 Leads seven-person team at Novilla RNG with
responsibility for accounting, debt management,
information technology, and CARB verification
Steve Berlinski (Director of Commissioning)
 Steve has 21 years experience in renewable natural
gas, having started up some of the first US landfill
RNG projects and operating and commissioning nine
dairy renewable natural gas projects
 Previously served as Regional Operations Manager
for DTE Biomass Energy where Steve managed over
twenty employees.
 Expert in gas compression and plant problem solving
Jared Williams (Co-CEO)
 More than 12 years of RNG operations and
development experience in landfill gas and
dairy RNG projects
 Jared was most recently the Vice President of
Operations at DTE Biomass Energy where he
led an 80-person team managing 21 landfill gas
projects and 9 dairy RNG projects, achieving
90%+ on-stream rates across his fleet
 Jared managed the first dairy virtual pipeline in
the country with the first provisional CI scores
Bill Parkhurst (Vice President of
Construction and Engineering)
 Over 20 years experience operating and
constructing natural gas pipelines
 Previously Vice President of Operations
for helium processing plant in Kansas in
which he led construction and operations.
 Pipeline, programming, and metering
expert
Rodney Taylor (Vice President of Operations)
 Twenty years of experience in natural gas
processing at Superior Pipeline as Director
of Operations, including an OPEX budget
over $300MM/yr
 Ten years of experience managing multiple
Class III dairy processing plants
 Participated in global design, fabrication,
and installation of waste water treatment
and power plants in North America and Asia
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Novilla RNG’s staff has experience operating eight dairy
renewable natural gas projects

• Three projects under construction, 3

more starting construction in 2023

• Large presence in of projects in tri-

state area

• Currently at 27 employees with 39

projected by the end of 2023

Three Petals RNG at Trillium Hill Farm West Branch RNG Project Red Leaf RNG Project at Maple Row Dairy

Contract Signature May 2022 Contract Signature March 2023 Contract Signature August 2022
Construction start: July 2022 Construction start: April 2023 Construction start: August 2022
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Renewable Natural Gas Process Overview

Fiber

Digestate Effluent
Manure

Anaerobic Digester Lagoon

Manure Collection
Biogas
55% Methane
45% Carbon Dioxide

“Tail gas”

Purified
Natural Gas

Natural Gas Pipeline Biogas Upgrading Flare or thermal

Plant oxidizer

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Vaca Verde RNG Process Flow

Utility Thermal Oxidizer

Natural Gas Tail Gas to Thermal Oxidizer
1-8% Methane
Tail Gas 99%-92% CO2

Flare

Product RNG
Unit 1 99% Methane
Digester 1% CO2
Boiler
RNG PLANT Pipeline
Biogas
Utility Natural Gas
52%-62% Methane
48-38% CO2

Methane Quality Analyzer Gas Flow Meter Flame detection device

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Vaca Verde RNG – Location in Nobles County

Project
Location

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Vaca Verde RNG – Overlay and Parcel ID

Parcel 01-0103-000
Manure Line

2.5MM gallon Complete Mix

Digesters

Manure Handling
and Reception

RNG Upgrading
Building

Flare and thermal

oxidizer

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Vaca Verde RNG – Survey Points

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3D Overview of Vaca Verde Project

Ocheda Dairy

2.5MM gallon Complete Mix

Digesters

Manure Handling
and Reception

RNG Upgrading

Flare and Thermal

Oxidizer

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Vaca Verde- Project Structure Details

Proposed Structures and their Dimensions

Structure Length Width
Digester 78’-5” Round
Equipment Building 50’-0” 60’-0”
Biogas Process Building 50’-0” 50’-0”
H2S Removal Skid 10’-9” 10’-0”
Station Flare 12’-0” 8’-0”
RNG Plant Thermal Oxidizer 8’-0” 8’-0”

Project to consist of:

• 2 ½ million-gallon digester
• Compressors and gas processing equipment to produce methane
(natural gas) and compress the natural gas into the pipeline.
• Environmental control technology (flare and thermal oxidizer) to
properly combust biogas and separated gas streams
• Various manure handling equipment, electrical equipment, and
pumps to operate project

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Vaca Verde Proposed Structure and Construction

Project to consist of:

• Anaerobic Digester Tank – The proposed digester is a 2.5-million-gallon above-ground bolted
lined steel tank with an embedded starter ring in a watertight concrete bottom.
• The embedded starter rings are sealed to the concrete foundation with SikaSwell or approved
equivalent, a hydrophilic sealant that swells in contact with water, producing a watertight seal. At the
foundation, the inside wall of the tank is sealed using Sika Hydrotite and Sikaflex TS Plus or approved
equivalents.
• The starter tank ring and bolts are sealed with SABA Ecoseal or approved equivalent, while the
remaining tank rings and bolts are sealed with Sikaflex TS Plus or approved equivalent. These seals
provide a watertight liner.
• The digester tank foundation will be 18-inch-thick double-reinforced slabs designed to ACI 350 –
Environmental Engineering Concrete Structures. Additionally, a waterproofing admixture (Xypex) will
be added to the digester floor concrete. As a crystalline waterproofing admixture, Xypex meets the
criterion for allowable admixtures in ACI 350 3.6.

• MCC/Office/Equipment Building – Proposed structure is a 50’x60’’ Type III

Construction: Ordinary and will utilize wooden frame with metal walls and roof.
This structure will house a natural gas fired boiler, heat exchanger, and pumps
for manure conveyance

• Biogas Process Building – Proposed structure is a 50’X50’ Type III Construction:

Ordinary and will utilize Steel frame with metal walls and roof. This structure
will contain all the processing equipment necessary to separate the methane
gas from other unwanted gases, primarily CO2 and H2S. The process has been
designed such that all the unwanted gases are directed to either a flare or
thermal oxidizer for destruction.

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 Vaca Verde RNG has an intense focus on safety and
environmental compliance
Environmental Compliance
Digesters, flares, and thermal oxidizers will be required to meet all
regulations and have necessary permits before operation

Odor and noise levels will meet all local ordinances

• Environmental control devices (flares and thermal oxidizer)
are designed to combust odor causing compounds
• Noise producing equipment will be housed in buildings or
containers
• EPA describes benefits of anaerobic lagoons as “What comes
out of a digester after processing is much less odorous than
the feedstocks that go into digesters.”

Safety
• Automated e-stops, methane detection devices, fire detection
devices, and hydrogen sulfide monitoring installed in enclosed
spaces
• Compliance with required construction and safety standards
• Safety training for technicians
• Plant walk through and annual meeting with first responders

1https://www.epa.gov/anaerobic-digestion/frequent-questions-about-anaerobic-digestion#stink? 11
Expected Construction Timeline

Digester Tank, Equipment Future Site West Branch

Digester Tank and Reception Pit,
Building, and Reception Pit, (Hoogland) RNG – Iowa
Three Petals RNG – Wisconsin
Red Leaf RNG – Michigan (Groundbreaking Spring 2023)
April 2023 (Groundbreaking A wholly owned subsidiary of Novilla RNG,LLC.
15JUN2022) April 2023 (Groundbreaking
A wholly owned subsidiary of Novilla RNG,LLC. 01AUG2022)

First Fill of Steady State

Digesters Summer 2024 Operation
SEP 2023

Spring Fall 2024

Groundbreaking 2024 First Renewable Natural
Gas Production

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Benefits to Nobles County

Employment
• Projected two highly skilled full-time jobs
• Dozens of construction jobs (2023-2024)
• Ongoing vendor work for electricians, local utilities,
piping, etc.

“Future proofing” agriculture and the economy in Nobles

County
• Infrastructure available for potential future
digesters.
• Milk customers are looking for lower carbon
emissions from dairies, dairies with digesters will be
more attractive to milk off-takers.
• Domestically produced vehicle fuel from a
renewable source.

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Greenhouse Gas Benefits

• Project capable of making 50,000 MMBtu

of renewable natural gas per year

• Energy equivalent to about 625,000

gallons of gasoline per year

• Greenhouse gas emissions removal

equivalent to 3,500 cars off the road

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Novilla RNG is excited to help dairies and the local communities
realize the environmental and financial benefits of biogas

Mark Hill Jared Williams

CO-CEO Novilla RNG CO-CEO Novilla RNG
734-395-2452 804-704-1974

mark@novillarng.com jared@novillarng.com

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