City of Phoenix RNG Plant Receives Honorable Mention in Fast Company’s 2020 World Changing Ideas Awards

Ameresco’s wastewater treatment biogas-to-renewable natural gas (RNG) facility recognized for its innovation and contribution to building a better world

NEW YORK & FRAMINGHAM, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Ameresco Inc., a leading energy efficiency and renewable energy company, today announced that its 91st Avenue RNG facility in Phoenix received an honorable mention in Fast Company’s 2020 World Changing Ideas Awards in the energy category. Organized annually, the World Changing Ideas Awards honor businesses, policies, projects and concepts that are actively engaged and deeply committed to solving the climate crisis, social injustice and economic inequality.

Designed, built, owned, operated and maintained by Ameresco, the 91st Avenue RNG facility is the largest wastewater treatment biogas-to-RNG facility of its kind in the United States. Using innovative, advanced energy technologies, the facility processes raw biogas generated on-site by the municipal wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) and converts it into RNG suitable for injection into the nation’s high-pressure natural gas pipeline. The carbon-neutral RNG produced at this facility offsets approximately 44,671 metric tons of CO₂ per year — the equivalent of taking roughly 70,452 passenger vehicles off the road for one year.

“RNG is a critical component of our clean energy future and has the potential to effectively support the decarbonization of our nation’s existing natural gas pipelines,” said Michael Bakas, EVP of Distributed Energy Systems at Ameresco. “Through the unique public-private partnership that we’ve forged with the City of Phoenix, we’re able to transform waste into a source of green energy, generating revenue for the City while mitigating greenhouse gas emissions in the region that contribute to climate change.”

Now in its fourth year, the World Changing Ideas Awards showcase how some of the world’s most inventive entrepreneurs and companies are addressing grave global challenges. A panel of eminent judges selected winners and finalists from a pool of more than 3,000 entries across transportation, education, food, politics, technology and more.

“There seems no better time to recognize organizations that are using their ingenuity, resources, and, in some cases, their scale to tackle society’s biggest problems,” says Stephanie Mehta, editor-in-chief of Fast Company. “Our journalists, under the leadership of senior editor Morgan Clendaniel, have uncovered some of the smartest and most inspiring projects of the year.”

To learn more about RNG and Ameresco’s 91st Avenue RNG facility, visit www.ameresco.com/renewable-natural-gas/.

About the World Changing Ideas Awards

World Changing Ideas is one of Fast Company’s major annual awards programs and is focused on social good, seeking to elevate finished products and brave concepts that make the world better. A panel of judges from across sectors choose winners, finalists, and honorable mentions based on feasibility and the potential for impact. With a goal of awarding ingenuity and fostering innovation, Fast Company draws attention to ideas with great potential and helps them expand their reach to inspire more people to start working on solving the problems that affect us all.

About Ameresco, Inc.

Founded in 2000, Ameresco, Inc. (NYSE:AMRC) is a leading independent provider of comprehensive services, energy efficiency, infrastructure upgrades, asset sustainability and renewable energy solutions for businesses and organizations throughout North America and Europe. Ameresco’s sustainability services include upgrades to a facility’s energy infrastructure and the development, construction and operation of renewable energy plants. Ameresco has successfully completed energy saving, environmentally responsible projects with Federal, state and local governments, healthcare and educational institutions, housing authorities, and commercial and industrial customers. With its corporate headquarters in Framingham, MA, Ameresco has more than 1,000 employees providing local expertise in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. For more information, visit www.ameresco.com.

The announcement of Ameresco’s honorable mention in the World Changing Ideas Awards for its renewable energy asset is not necessarily indicative of the timing or amount of revenue from such energy asset, of the company’s overall revenue for any particular period or of trends in the company’s overall total assets in development or operation. This energy asset was included in our previously reported assets in operation as of December 31, 2019.