What determines CBG plant cost?
CBG project cost is not controlled by output capacity alone. Feedstock reception, storage, preprocessing, digester type, civil works, gas upgrading, compression, cascade or pipeline facilities, digestate processing, utilities, roads, fire systems, laboratory, tax, contingency, working capital, and finance costs can materially change the budget.
- Define whether TPD means feedstock input or saleable CBG output
- Separate EPC cost from total installed and total project cost
- State land, tax, IDC, contingency, storage, and offsite exclusions
- Use dated vendor quotations and site-specific civil assumptions
How revenue and profit are estimated
Gross revenue begins with saleable CBG quantity multiplied by the net realized price. Other income may include contracted waste-management fees, captive fuel savings, or compliant organic products. Each source should be modelled only when quantity, quality, buyer, logistics, and net realization are credible.
- CBG output after ramp-up, downtime, and methane recovery
- Net sale price after delivery and contractual deductions
- Feedstock, logistics, power, labour, chemicals, maintenance, and insurance
- Working capital, major replacement, and product-distribution costs
ROI and payback need a clear definition
Simple ROI compares annual operating surplus with the investment basis, while project IRR and equity IRR use multi-year cash flows. Simple payback ignores the time value of money. A credible investment model should show more than one measure and test downside scenarios.
- Annual EBITDA and EBITDA margin
- Simple and discounted payback
- Unlevered project IRR and levered equity IRR
- NPV, DSCR, breakeven price, and maximum affordable feedstock cost
How to use the free ROI calculator
Enter project cost, annual revenue, annual operating expense, and confirmed assistance to test early scenarios. Set assistance to zero for a downside case. The result is useful for comparison, but a bankable model also needs debt drawdowns, interest, depreciation, tax, working capital, construction schedule, and sensitivity analysis.
- Start with conservative output and price
- Run low, base, and high operating-cost scenarios
- Compare the result before and after debt service
- Request a site-specific model before relying on the headline ROI