Board approves 20-year landfill renewable natural gas contract; some commissioners raise risk concerns

The Manatee County Board approved a 20‑year performance contract to convert methane recovered from the county landfill into pipeline‑quality renewable natural gas (RNG). The agreement assigns private partners to design-build-operate the facility and to share revenues with the county; county staff said there is no upfront cost to taxpayers and that the project could produce the equivalent energy for roughly 4,500 homes annually.

Utilities Director Patrick Shea and partners from JCI and NoPetro described the investment‑grade audit and a turnkey approach in which NoPetro would own and operate the RNG facility while JCI would retain guaranteed‑savings and measurement responsibilities. Staff characterized it as a $50 million private investment with a county revenue floor of approximately $883,000 annually (a guaranteed minimum payment to the county), with upside linked to commodity volumes and gas pricing.

The board questioned long‑term liability, lien and bond protections, and demolition rights if an owner/operator failed to meet obligations. Staff and the county attorney said the contract requires performance bonds, indemnities, and insurance: a structured performance bond regime that includes an initial performance bond and ongoing securities (staff described amounts including a $3 million performance bond to protect the county in the event of default), and gave the county rights to demolish and return the site to pre‑project condition if the private operator abandoned the facility. Utility staff also noted market diversification and that the facility sits near a transmission pipeline, making injection of pipeline‑quality RNG feasible.

Commission debate was robust: some commissioners supported the project as “waste to worth,” noting the county currently flares about 75% of the methane produced and uses the rest in wastewater processes, so monetizing the resource provides net revenue without county capital outlay; others said the county should be careful about potential future exposure if a private owner or financier walked away and a bank foreclosed on equipment installed on county property. The county attorney said these risks had been negotiated and indemnities entered.

After discussion the board voted to approve the agreement; the motion passed with the tally recorded in the meeting minutes. Staff said construction would take approximately 20 months, with commercial operations expected in 2027; the 20‑year revenue term would thereafter commence. Public works and utilities staff will implement initial project oversight and measurement-and-verification tasks described in the contract.

Because the project involves ongoing measurement of production and commodity prices, staff said they will return with periodic reports and that JCI will provide measurement-and-verification services throughout the contract term to ensure the county receives guaranteed minimum payments.