What Cambrian Energy does

Cambrian Energy is a privately held, family-owned renewable energy project developer and operator founded in 1980 in Los Angeles. The company specializes exclusively in landfill gas-to-energy projects across the United States, developing and operating renewable natural gas (RNG) plants that upgrade landfill-derived biomethane to pipeline injection standards, as well as landfill gas-to-electricity, cogeneration, and medium-Btu industrial gas projects. Its portfolio spans 17 states and includes the McCommas Bluff Landfill RNG Project in Dallas — the largest producing RNG project in the United States at 7,800 MMBtus per day — plus the Fort Smith RNG Project (the first RNG project in Arkansas) and 40+ additional electric power, cogeneration, and medium-Btu sites. Core technical components include landfill gas collection systems, biomethane upgrading to high-Btu pipeline-quality gas, and the largest deployment of solar-powered automatically tuning landfill gas wells at any US RNG project.

Cambrian's business model is built on long-term fixed-price offtake agreements with major energy counterparties including Shell Energy North America (RNG Sale Agreement), Constellation Energy (power purchase agreement), Atmos Pipeline-Texas (pipeline injection at 7,000+ MMBtus/day), and Arkansas Oklahoma Gas Corporation. Revenue streams combine recurring RNG sales under fixed-price per-MMBtu contracts, electric power sales under fixed-price kWh PPAs, transportation fuel market RNG sales, and direct industrial medium-Btu gas sales. The company provides landfill gas collection infrastructure at no cost to landfill owners and pays substantial rent to host municipalities — a public-private partnership model exemplified by its successful City of Fort Smith and City of Dallas projects.

The company is led by co-founder and President Evan Williams, who also chairs the Coalition for Renewable Natural Gas (a 200+ member industry trade group co-founded by Cambrian in 2011). It has no institutional investors or parent company, has executed no disclosed external funding rounds, and operates with a lean team of four key principals including Executive Vice President Rhys Williams (Evan's son), Director of Business Operations Patricia Dillon, and Assistant Director of Administration Ryan Dillon. The company has participated in more than $1 billion of renewable energy project financings across its history and achieved the first investment-grade Fitch rating for a landfill-gas-derived RNG project bond.

Name

Cambrian Energy

Legal name

Cambrian Energy

Website

https://cambrianenergy.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1980

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Cambrian Energy is a family-owned renewable energy developer founded in 1980 that converts landfill gas into pipeline-quality renewable natural gas (RNG), electricity, cogeneration, and industrial gas across 17 US states, operating the largest RNG project in the United States and serving major energy counterparties under long-term fixed-price agreements.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Renewable Energy / Landfill Gas-to-Energy

NAICS

Biomass Electric Power Generation (221117), Electric Power Generation (22111)

SIC

Cogeneration Services & Small Power Producers (4991), Refuse Systems (4953)

akta.pro primary industry

Landfill Gas (LFG) Collection & RNG Upgrading (EUAAAEAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Biogas/RNG Plant Development, EPC & Project Delivery (EUAAAEAH), Biogas/RNG Plant Operations, Maintenance & Asset Management (EUAAAEAI), Gas-to-Power Project Development (IPP/CPP, Permitting, Financing) (EUALALAC), RNG Offtake, Marketing & Environmental Attributes (RINs/LCFS/Guarantees of Origin) (EUAAAEAG), Landfill Gas (LFG) Capture, Flaring & Energy Recovery (BPALACAF)

Keywords

• Landfill gas-to-energy
• Renewable natural gas
• Biomethane production
• Landfill gas electricity
• Waste-to-energy projects

Headquarters

HQ city

Los Angeles

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Infrastructure, Operations, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. RNG (Renewable Natural Gas) Sales: Production and sale of pipeline-quality biomethane (RNG) derived from landfill gas. RNG is sold under long-term fixed-price agreements to major energy companies like Shell Energy North America. Revenue is recurring based on MMBtu delivery volumes.
2. Electric Power Generation and Sales: Landfill gas-to-electricity projects generating power sold under long-term fixed-price power purchase agreements (e.g., with Constellation Energy). Capacity ranges from 500 kW to 12,000 kW across multiple projects.
3. Transportation Fuel Market Sales: RNG sold into the transportation fuel market to improve project economics
4. Medium Btu Gas Sales: Direct sale of medium Btu landfill gas to industrial users
5. Cogeneration/Heat Recovery: Projects generating both electricity and useful heat (hot water/hot air) for nearby facilities

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Cambrian Energy develops and operates landfill gas-to-energy projects across the United States. The company's portfolio includes renewable natural gas (RNG/High Btu) projects that upgrade landfill gas to pipeline-quality biomethane, landfill gas-to-electricity projects, cogeneration projects producing both electricity and useful heat, and medium Btu gas projects for industrial users. It sells RNG under long-term fixed-price agreements to pipeline operators and utilities, and electricity under power purchase agreements.

Product overview

Cambrian Energy is a renewable energy development company that develops and operates landfill gas-to-energy projects. The company's portfolio includes renewable natural gas (RNG) projects that convert landfill gas to pipeline-quality biomethane, electric power generation projects, cogeneration projects combining power and thermal energy, and medium Btu gas projects for industrial users. Key projects include the McCommas Bluff Landfill RNG Project (the largest RNG project in the United States), the Fort Smith Landfill RNG Project (the only RNG project in Arkansas), and over 40 additional projects across California, Arizona, Florida, Kansas, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Tennessee, Texas, and Washington. Projects span multiple technology types including RNG/High Btu gas, Medium Btu gas, Electric Power, and Cogeneration.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 7,000 MMBtus per day of RNG delivered to Atmos Pipeline-Texas - highest volume of any RNG project in the United States
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Coalition for Renewable Natural GascoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2011Cambrian Energy is a founding member of the Coalition for Renewable Natural Gas. Evan Williams has served as Chairman of the Board of Directors since its founding in 2011. The Coalition represents all stakeholders in the RNG industry in North America with over 200 member companies.
• Shell Energy North AmericacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-term RNG Sale Agreement for fixed double-digit price per MMBtu, enabling the McCommas Bluff project to remain profitable when natural gas prices were below $2.00/MMBtu. This first-of-its-kind agreement was critical to the project's success.
• Constellation EnergycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFirst-of-its-kind long-term electric power purchase agreement at fixed price to establish predictable profit margin against the fixed-price RNG Sale Agreement at McCommas Bluff.
• City of Fort SmithcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerVery successful public-private partnership. The City receives substantial rent payments, Cambrian pays all capital and operating costs for the landfill gas collection system, and the City benefits from association with one of the most successful RNG projects in the United States.
• Partner for McCommas Bluff Landfill RNG ProjectcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner50% partnership with Cambrian Energy. Together they acquired operating assets from a trustee in bankruptcy in 2007 and transformed the failing project into the largest producing RNG project in the United States.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Waste Management: Largest North American waste services company and a major owner/operator of landfill gas-to-energy projects. Comparable to Cambrian because Waste Management owns many of the landfills where Cambrian develops projects and operates its own RNG initiatives at scale.
• Ameresco: Independent renewable energy developer with landfill gas-to-energy projects among its portfolio. Comparable as a project developer that structures long-term PPAs and operates distributed renewable energy assets.
• Republic Services: Second-largest US solid waste company with significant landfill gas and RNG operations, including its own vehicle fleet conversion to RNG. Comparable as a vertically integrated developer that owns both landfills and RNG off-take.
• DTE Vantage: Subsidiary of DTE Energy that develops and operates renewable energy projects, including landfill gas recovery. Comparable as a developer-owner-operator of LFG and RNG assets across multiple US sites.

Direct peers

• Clean Energy Fuels: Leading US supplier of RNG for the transportation market, operating fueling infrastructure for heavy-duty fleets. Comparable because both companies sell RNG into the transportation fuel market under long-term arrangements.
• Mas Energy: Developer and operator of landfill gas-to-energy projects in the US. Comparable as a similarly sized independent LFG project developer pursuing RNG, electricity, and medium-Btu gas projects.
• Brightmark Energy: Developer of RNG projects from dairy manure and other organic waste streams. Comparable as a project developer that aggregates feedstock sources, finances plants via project debt, and sells RNG under long-term agreements.
• Montauk Renewables: Public RNG producer that captures methane from landfills and other sources for sale as pipeline-quality gas and renewable energy credits. Comparable business model focused on landfill/biogas-to-RNG with environmental attribute monetization.
• Archaea Energy (BP): Acquired by BP, Archaea is one of the largest US producers of RNG from landfill gas. Closest direct competitor to Cambrian in landfill-derived RNG, operating multiple large-scale LFG-to-RNG plants with similar long-term offtake structures.

Emerging players

• Opal Fuels: Public RNG producer that operates landfill gas-to-RNG projects and sells environmental credits and vehicle fuel. Comparable as a developer/operator of landfill-derived RNG with similar revenue streams from gas sales and credits.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Cambrian Energy