The Azura Associates team had a wonderful time at the Value of Biogas East Conference hosted by the Canadian Biogas Association. This in-person event took place at the end of April in Toronto, Ontario. Value of Biogas are Canada’s premier biogas and renewable natural gas (RNG) conferences which bring together leaders in the field for insightful discussion and networking. This was a terrific opportunity to connect with business leaders, legal experts, project developers, technology vendors, as well as anaerobic digestion and RNG subject matter experts (SMEs). Azura was pleased to not only be a sponsor, but to once again be given the opportunity to share our experience and expertise at the event.
To kick off the event, the Azura team was able to visit the City of Toronto’s Dufferin Organics Processing Facility (DOPF). DOPF was recently expanded to accept up to 55,000 tonnes per year of source separated organics which it converts to RNG. Our group was guided by Rhiad Gajraj from Anaergia who provided lots of operational insights on this behind-the-scene tour.
On the second day of the conference, Azura’s principal engineer, Dave Ellis was part of a panel presentation. Based on his more than 30 years experience with digester facilities, Dave spoke about “Biogas plant Due Diligence, Contracting, and Disputes.” Due diligence of RNG projects strives to mitigate risk and assure owners, purchasers, lenders, and investors that the project will be able to generate the revenue needed to reliably service payments for the long term. Dave’s presentation featured case study snapshots to demonstrate how narrow or hastily performed due diligence can overlook significant risks, both in the project itself and in the project contracting, which can lead to significant commercial disputes between owners, designers, EPC (engineering, procurement, construction) firms, and technology providers.
Azura is a proud member of the Canadian Biogas Association and we always look forward to returning to this conference as it is a highlight every year. To learn more about the Canadian Biogas Association, or the upcoming Value of Biogas West conference in Calgary, visit the CBA website.
