Project Screening and Economic Analysis

Here, we work with you to agree upon a preliminary major equipment configuration that suites your operation and your budget. We look at how much power you want to make, or how much green fuel you want to put into the natural gas pipeline and we look at how much organic biomass you have available nearby. We then roughly size a biogas system and produce an economic screening spreadsheet, which features the following:
  1. Technical Assumptions
  2. Financial and Economic Assumptions
  3. Derivation of Revenues and Savings
  4. Derivation of Annual O&M Expenses
  5. Rough Capital Cost Estimate (on a supply & install, design-build basis)
  6. Derivation of Earnings Before Interest And Taxes
  7. Capital Structure (debt versus equity)
  8. Net Cash Flow (after-tax and after principle and interest payments)
  9. Return on Equity

Permits & Approvals

Here we complete all of those due diligence steps which are required prior to construction and release of capital. These could include some of the following:
Connection Impact Assessment (with Local Electrical Distribution Company)
Building Permit
Site Plan Amendment or Site Plan Approval (if necessary)
Stormwater Management Plan
Certificate of Approval with/for Ministry of the Environment (if applicable)

Detail Design & Cost Estimate

Here, we manage the detail engineering effort. Some of this we undertake ourselves in-house with internal resources, both within PBS and within PlanET Germany. Some of the required engineering services for mechanical and electrical tie-ins with the host, for example, we sub to specialty engineering firms. Examples of deliverables produced during the detailed design stage include:

Design basis and design criteria
Process flow diagram
Heat and mass balance diagram
P&ID (process and instrument diagram)
Detailed electrical single line diagram
Detailed piping drawings connecting the biogas system to the host
General arrangement drawing
Site plan drawing
Stamped concrete drawings

Construction

We provide total construction management and project management services. We undertake construction as follows:
  1. We hire a specialty excavator to prepare the site and dig the holes.
  2. We hire a specialty concrete contractor to pour the digesters for us, under our supervision
  3. We ensure that all the required equipment and materials arrive at site at the right time. Some equipment and materials come from Germany and many come from Canada.
  4. We use our own in-house forces to construct the digesters and the biogas system itself
  5. These same individuals who are a construction team also commission the system
  6. We hire a specialty electrical firm to do all the high voltage wiring to connect to the local distribution company (if applicable). This same firm does all the low voltage wiring between the different biogas sub-systems
  7. We hire a specialty piping firm to install the hot water piping and biogas piping to the boiler or the flare.

Post-Commissioning Services

There are two essential after-market services which you will need. We provide both of these key services to you. They include:
  1. Technical and maintenance support of the equipment and systems themselves, most notably the engine genset, if you’re system includes a biogas engine.
  2. Microbiological support. This is critical. There are a number of process parameters within the digester itself that must be maintained so that the methane producing bacteria are happy and efficient. This involves weekly sampling of the active slurry itself and daily sampling of the biogas.