Silicon Slopes-based Nodal Power, a renewable energy company, has successfully raised $13 million in seed funding aimed at addressing methane emissions at landfills. The funding was spearheaded by Spacestation Investments and featured a consortium of prominent investors and business leaders from the region including Clarke Miyasaki, Chris Bennett, Shaun McBride, Sean Holladay, Kirk Ouitmet, Tyler Stample, Reno Mendenhall, Davis Bell, Beau Oyler, Greg Woodward, and many more.
Founded with the mission of developing and operating renewable energy assets (particularly in the biogas sector), Nodal Power focuses on harnessing underutilized energy resources. The company's innovative technology has the potential to significantly reduce methane emissions, a potent greenhouse gas with a heat-trapping capability 25x greater than carbon dioxide.
By converting methane gas into usable energy through combustion in a generator, Nodal Power not only curtails carbon emissions but also repurposes a previously wasted resource. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that landfills are responsible for approximately 14.3% of fugitive methane emissions in the United States. Recent NASA findings suggest that current estimates could underestimate the actual extent of methane emissions due to outdated measurement methods.
The funding has been instrumental in establishing and operating two renewable energy power plants within the United States. The first site, situated in the southeastern region, feeds electricity generated from landfill gas into the local utility grid. Additionally, this site features a pioneering data center, enabling efficient coordination between the utility and the data center. The second site, located in the mountainous west, boasts a fully sustainable off-grid data center powered solely by landfill gas, setting a new industry standard. Plans are underway to allocate further funds for a third site in the US by early 2024. All three sites leverage methane gas produced by the decomposition of organic waste at landfills to generate renewable electricity.
Said Nodal Power's CEO, Bryan Black, "We’ve developed solutions, specifically for smaller landfills, that allow us to bring these overlooked resources to market. Our technology and energy first approach have the potential to make a significant impact on local energy markets."
