A new renewable natural gas (RNG) facility at the West Daviess County Landfill is now fully operational, marking the completion of the region’s first project to convert landfill gas emissions into clean, usable energy, according to local officials.
RPM Holdings — a joint venture between Redtail Renewables and Pacolet Milliken — officially celebrated the milestone with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Thursday. The facility captures methane from decomposing waste, preventing it from entering the atmosphere, and converts it into renewable natural gas for use in transportation, utilities, and industrial applications.
“This project reflects the County’s commitment to recognizing and solving the problems of today while creating long-term solutions for a cleaner future,” said Casey Holsapple, CEO of Redtail Renewables. “We want to thank Daviess County for its forward-thinking leadership and willingness to tackle fugitive methane emissions.”
Daviess County Judge-Executive Charlie Castlen called the project “a tremendous win” for both residents and taxpayers.
“Owensboro RNG will extract landfill gas as a usable product as opposed to flaring the gas,” Castlen said. “This project significantly decreases expenses and will result in a revenue stream to the County, which will help control rates.”
Holsapple said the facility works by capturing methane that forms naturally as buried waste decomposes without oxygen. The landfill’s well-field system collects the gas and routes it to the processing plant, where contaminants such as carbon dioxide and nitrogen are filtered out, producing high-quality renewable natural gas identical in composition to traditional natural gas.
According to Redtail Renewables, the Owensboro RNG site is capable of producing up to 500,000 MMBtu annually — roughly the amount of energy used by 7,000 Kentucky homes. They said the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions is equivalent to removing about 4,100 cars from the road each year.
“If the well field and the projects weren’t here, the methane emissions would just go into the atmosphere — and methane is 84 times worse as a greenhouse gas than CO₂,” Holsapple said. “What this project does is it captures all of that methane and converts it to renewable energy.”
Construction on the facility began after RPM Holdings acquired the project from a prior developer in 2021. Holsapple said the work took roughly 12 to 15 months to complete, and the plant has been producing gas for a few weeks.
“This project is a great example of what happens when local government and private industry work together to tackle environmental challenges,” said Lance Jordan, Chief Investment Officer of Pacolet Power & Infrastructure. “We’re proud to partner with Redtail Renewables and Daviess County on a facility that transforms waste into a renewable energy solution with real environmental impact.”
Officials said the site employs four full-time operators and represents a cost savings of roughly $200,000 per year to Daviess County, as Redtail assumed maintenance of the landfill’s gas well system at no cost to taxpayers.
“The taxpayers have benefited pretty much from day one,” Castlen said. “They’re fronting 100% of the upfront development cost, and by capturing what was previously wasted, we’re turning it into something that benefits everyone.”
Redtail Renewables, based in Indianapolis, develops and operates landfill biogas and RNG projects across the U.S. The Owensboro facility is backed by Inyarek Partners, a Boston-based private equity firm supporting Redtail’s renewable initiatives.
“We’re proud to support Redtail and its partners in delivering a project that embodies both environmental responsibility and economic value,” said Paul Kaboub, Partner and Co-founder at Inyarek. “This facility underscores our commitment to disciplined execution, delivering reliable, high-quality assets that perform to the highest standards.”
