Owning the Whole Stack in RNG

Vertical integration is a concept that tends to attract more enthusiasm than scrutiny in fast-growing industries. The renewable natural gas sector is no exception. Yet the logic behind OPAL Fuels' partnership with GFL Environmental deserves careful examination

On June 3, 2026, the two companies announced advanced construction of jointly owned RNG facilities at two landfills in Alabama and Georgia. Designed with nearly 2 million MMBtu of combined capacity, the plants are expected to produce about 15 million gasoline gallon equivalents annually, enough to fuel roughly 800 Class 8 heavy-duty tractors. OPAL will market and distribute the full output through its CNG and RNG dispensing network

The arrangement solves a genuine problem. Smaller, standalone RNG producers typically lack the distribution infrastructure to negotiate favourable offtake terms. An integrated model eliminates that friction: one company captures the methane, upgrades the gas, and delivers it to the forecourt

For GFL, the logic is different but complementary. Its chief executive noted that the projects would fuel the company's own CNG fleet from landfill gas produced at its landfills, while generating strong, stable, risk-adjusted returns for many years. Internalising fuel supply reduces exposure to diesel price volatility and supports GFL's own emissions commitments

The structural question is whether utility and voluntary markets, which offer longer contracts but typically lower prices than transportation, might erode the premium that fuelling fleets currently commands. OPAL's bet is that fleet demand remains robust and that controlling both ends of the value chain provides sufficient margin protection. Whether that holds as utility procurement scales is less certain