BC Business
Vancouver-based Green Impact Partners (TSXV:GIP) has started construction of a renewable natural gas plant near a couple of big dairy farms in Colorado that's expected to churn out 800 million Btus of the stuff per day when it's finished a year or so from now.
Green Impact went public through a reverse takeover in May
The stock: You’ve heard of LNG and maybe CNG. Time to get familiar with RNG, or renewable natural gas. That’s the gaseous fuel that comes not from hundreds or thousands of metres underground and hundreds of millions of years ago but instead can be harvested from yesterday’s livestock manure, wood waste or compost—and until now just escaped into the atmosphere. That means burning it for heating or electrical generation is carbon-neutral as far as the eco-auditors are concerned. Vancouver-based Green Impact Partners (TSXV:GIP) has started construction of an RNG plant near a couple of big dairy farms in Colorado that’s expected to churn out 800 million BTUs of the stuff per day when it’s finished in a year or so.
The drivers: The Colorado plant is just the first in an ambitious slate of environmentally friendly projects worth $3 billion that GIP has on tap. The thing is, none of them are operational yet, so this is basically a startup. True, the company intends to use proven technology and to take full advantage of existing government subsidies aimed at effecting the transition to a low- or no-carbon economy. But to a large degree, investors are going to have to take this one, with all its attendant execution risk, on faith.
Led by CEO Jesse Douglas and chair Geeta Sankappanavar, Green Impact went public in May through a reverse takeover of TSX Venturelisted Blackheath Resources. As part of the deal, it also acquired the clean energy assets of Alberta-based oilfield services provider Wolverine Energy and Infrastructure (TSXV:WEII). Wolverine shareholders ended up with a 25 percent stake in GIP. The shares, substantially consolidated from the Blackheath era, most recently traded for $8.50, giving the enterprise a market capitalization of $173 million.
Word on the street: Without venturing a rating or price target, analyst Christopher Jones of Haywood Securities says, “With a robust development pipeline of RNG projects, GIP is strategically positioned (cash on hand, project pipeline) to capitalize on [the] tailwinds” of government incentives and investor interest in the transition to green energy.
Coming and going: As if it didn’t have enough on its to-do list, Well Health Technologies Corp. (TSX:WELL), which we reviewed back in March, has launched a subsidiary called Well Ventures that invests in early-stage digital health startups. Existing investments in companies including Circle Health and Insig will be allocated to Well Ventures, along with a newly announced stake in Bright, which delivers virtual wellness programs for employers.