Suncor Energy Inc. T.SU

Where is the world going?

[Experienced]

In previous posts I talked about dispatchable energy production or in simple terms localized off grid energy production. I also talked about investing where the world is going as opposed to fighting change.

Through a contact I had an interesting discussion with a Senior Executive with the company Waste Management (WM).  This company is a very large recycling company and operates landfills throughout the US and in Ontario and Quebec.

Over the next 3 years they plan to spend about a billion dollars in the capture of biogas from their landfills. The amount of renewable natural gas they will collect will power their whole fleet of trucks which will be fueled by natural gas or electric batteries fueled by electricity generated from the RNG.  This means that their fuel costs for their primary recycling business is essentially zero.

In addition they expect to be able to produce enough localized electricity from this RNG to provide electricity to more than a million homes near their landfills across the US or about 1% of all homes in the US making it a large electricity utility all using free fuel from its landfills to produce the electricity.

in addition, they already have about 60MW of electricity capacity from solar and wind at adandoned landfills. 

By 2026 their income from RNG will be greater than their whole recycling business!!

While what they are doing may not have a big impact on oil demand, it does relate directly to my points regarding putting your money into areas of growth as opposed to areas with headwinds such as oil production.  I am not recommending people here necessarily buy WM stock but only using it as an example of where the world is going and that successful investing requires a broad perspective as opposed to a myopic one.

[vr6loco]

Since your talking "trash", which is very interesting. GFL, another waste management company is doing the same thing with the methane also using AI in the sorting of recycling.  Now talking about "pooh", about 15 years ago I was working at the waste water facility in Kingston Ontario.  Couldn't believe the setup to capture the methane from waste water to run large

[Experienced]

Yes -for sure!!!..... the person I was talking to mentioned GFL, saying that WM was not alone in the direction they were headed and that RNG was going to be a big thing for the major recycling companies.   Same thing is going in Europe as well.

[meritmat]

Natural gas mechanic I have used for years was servicing a unit compressing the gas off of an old dump.  Not sure how they did it but the gas quality was not great.  Lots of maintenance on the driver.    That was 15 to 20 years ago I should ask him next time I'm talking to him if it's still running.  I think it was on Ontario country 

[555rookie555]

Turbine products to be installed at storm water outfalls are also beginning to enter the market. There are just so many educated people who are innovating to try and generate clean energy wherever potential exists... Like any newer industry it will be near impossible to pick the winners from the losers. 

[Experienced]

Good point. Here are a few things I have learned over the years, especially in regard to smaller companies about the difficulty in picking winners. 1...for larger companies when they are their own customers that reduces the risk.  So in the example of WM they will be using their own RNG to power their fleet of trucks. 2....for smaller companies in most cases it is all about management and