Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board has entered into a strategic partnership with Sevana Bioenergy that will see it acquire a majority stake in the business and make a capital commitment of $250m to develop renewable natural gas (RNG) projects across North America, according to a press release.
Sevana is a pioneer in the RNG industry, developing and upgrading large-scale biogas projects to increase the production and use of RNG through the reduction of organic waste. Sevana has successfully executed dairy and organics projects which include more than 20 state-of-the-art digester tanks across agricultural regions such as Oregon, Idaho and South Dakota since its founding by CEO John McKinney in 2017.
Sevana led these innovative projects to deploy more than $350m under construction and worked closely with farmers to form long-term beneficial partnerships as part of its strategy to own and operate reliable digester facilities. Sevana’s team of in-house experts has over 150 years of combined experience designing, operating, and maximizing performance of anaerobic digesters with projects worldwide.
“We are pleased to partner with John and the Sevana team to help accelerate their efforts to develop advanced digester facilities that produce RNG and electricity for transportation fuel, EV charging and other forms of energy,” said Zvi Orvitz, senior managing director, Sustainability & Energy Transition, Private Capital at Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan. “Sevana has a demonstrated track record of success in the implementation of cutting edge RNG facilities, and we are excited by the opportunity to further scale the company as it enters its next chapter of growth.”
RNG is an important tool in the decarbonization of transportation, heating and industrial energy consumption and Sevana is a market leader entering new markets with RNG related products. Sevana’s projects capture fugitive methane emissions from farm animal and other organic waste streams that contribute to climate change and use this waste to produce low-carbon renewable power and RNG to replace fossil fuel-based energy sources. The company boasts a deep pipeline of future development opportunities and is also actively considering acquisition opportunities across the U.S.
“We welcome Ontario Teachers’ and look forward to our partnership as we work toward our objective of providing decarbonization solutions from RNG and continuing to enter new markets with related products” said Steve Compton, president at Sevana Bioenergy. “This commitment accelerates development of our industry leading projects that contribute direct economic and sustainable benefits to local communities and reduce greenhouse gases.”
Sevana is the latest investment by Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan in the Sustainability and Energy Transition sector and will serve to advance the organization’s commitment to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
Kirkland & Ellis LLP served as legal counsel to Ontario Teachers’ on the transaction. Fredrickson and Byron served as legal counsel to Sevana.
