Avolta secures Pathward as funder for Arizona RNG plants

In Arizona, renewable natural gas (RNG) developer, Avolta, in 2022 sought a funding partner to build facilities at two dairy farms in Arizona that would turn cow manure into RNG. Following a request for proposal, Avolta selected to work with Pathward®, N.A., a nationally designated U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) lender.

Pathward is committed to investing in environmental sustainability opportunities (an Environmental, Social and Governance strategic area of focus), and its Commercial Finance business line puts a special emphasis on funding alternative and renewable energy projects, helping the company meet unfilled needs in that area, particularly in the solar and biogas sectors.

Avolta’s projects were among those loans where Pathward’s Structured Finance Group worked closely with the customer to provide one-stop solutions for construction and permanent financing for two large RNG plants, that, according to Avolta, can handle waste streams from more than 60,000 dairy cows. These facilities ultimately create RNG from organic materials, such as cow manure, providing environmental and financial benefits.

Avolta announced that the projects can capture most of the methane the cows produce, reducing carbon emissions equivalent to removing 8,000 cars from the road each year.  They also can eliminate the consumption of 4 million gallons of fresh water per day from the aquifer through water treatment systems and closed-loop recycling processes. In addition to providing environmental benefits, Avolta shared that the project created hundreds of construction jobs within the community and will continue to provide supplemental income to the dairy farms hosting the facilities.