Montauk Ag Renewables commissioned: The North Carolina facility is producing syngas and Montauk expects the production and sale of renewable electricity to begin in May 2026, with first-phase targets of about 47,000 MWh and 120,000 RECs and capital investment for phase one unchanged at $200 million.
Q1 results mixed: Total revenue rose to $46.4 million (up 9% y/y) while operating loss was $1.6 million, but adjusted EBITDA increased to $10.8 million (up 22.8%); GreenWave RIN activity contributed receipts and sales (≈$1.4M received, ~$2.4M recognized) even as RNG commodity revenue declined amid a roll-off of fixed-price contracts.
Financing and outlook: Montauk closed a new five-year, up-to-$200 million senior secured facility (≈$155M outstanding) and reaffirmed full-year 2026 volume and revenue ranges while updating renewable electricity revenue guidance to $33–$37 million reflecting Montauk Ag expectations.
Montauk Renewables (NASDAQ:MNTK) detailed first-quarter 2026 results and provided an update on major projects, including commissioning progress at its Montauk Ag Renewables facility in North Carolina and developments at its GreenWave joint venture.
Montauk Ag Renewables commissioned; revenue expected to begin in May
President and CEO Sean McClain said the company has commissioned the Montauk Ag Renewables project in Turkey, North Carolina and is producing syngas. McClain said Montauk expects the “production and sale of renewable electricity from our syngas to commence in May 2026,” with revenue starting after calibration of the sales meter by the interconnection utility.
McClain said the company has operated “the full production line” as part of commissioning and expects the project’s first phase to reach targeted annual output of 47,000 megawatts and 120,000 renewable energy credits (RECs) using about 50% of installed reactor capacity. He added that the capital investment expectation for the first phase “remains unchanged at $200 million.” He also said production volumes are expected to ramp throughout 2026, tied to additional feedstock collection.
In the Q&A, CFO Kevin Van Asdalan said the company’s updated renewable electricity revenue outlook reflects a one-month shift in timing. “The adjustment to the revenue guidance is solely attributed to the timing of the commissioning that was completed at the end of April as opposed to the end of the first quarter, with revenue commencement activity starting in May, instead of April,” Van Asdalan said.
Asked about the ramp profile, Van Asdalan said weather delays affected some on-farm equipment installation and dewatering equipment assembly. He said the 2026 ramp is “contingent upon us getting caught up” on installations related to feedstock collection and transportation to the production facility.
GreenWave activity and RIN distribution
McClain said the company’s joint venture, GreenWave, is focused on addressing limited transportation utilization capacity for renewable natural gas (RNG) by offering third-party volumes access to “exclusive, unique, and proprietary transportation pathways.” During the first quarter, he said GreenWave matched dispensing capacity with third-party RNG volumes, separated Renewable Identification Numbers (RINs), and distributed RINs to partners.
McClain said Montauk received approximately $1.4 million in separated RINs distributed from GreenWave in the first quarter. Van Asdalan later added that of the $1.4 million in distributed RINs, about $0.4 million remained unsold at quarter end. He also said the company sold about 1 million RINs associated with GreenWave activity and recorded roughly $2.4 million in revenue from those sales.
Biogenic CO2 contract termination and offtake alternatives
McClain said Montauk terminated its contract with European Energy North America (EENA) for delivery of biogenic carbon dioxide. “The termination was due to EENA’s failure to provide certain contractual assurances and notices related to the construction of their Texas-based eMethanol facility,” he said.
McClain said the company is exploring alternative offtake arrangements for its Atascocita location, and that the timing of capital expenditures will be “synchronous with the finalization of replacement offtake agreements.” He said the company continues to anticipate capital investment of $30 million to $40 million related to this effort.
Regulatory update: EPA final RFS rules for 2026 and 2027
McClain reviewed the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s final rules for the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) for 2026 and 2027, issued March 27, 2026. He said the 2025 cellulosic volume requirement was reduced to 1,210 million D3 RINs from 1,376 million, and that cellulosic waiver credits were made available for 2025 compliance.
For 2026 and 2027, McClain said final cellulosic biofuel volume requirements were set at 1,360 million and 1,430 million D3 RINs, respectively—an increase of 60 million and 70 million from preliminary renewable volume obligations (RVOs). McClain said the final volumes reflect the EPA’s assessment of expected RIN generation capacity and pathway constraints tied to end-use demand for CNG and LNG transportation fuels derived from biogas. He also noted the EPA did not provide reallocations of D3 RINs in the final rule, citing statutory conditions.
Van Asdalan said total revenue in the first quarter of 2026 was $46.4 million, up $3.8 million, or 9%, from $42.6 million in the first quarter of 2025. He attributed the increase to environmental attribute revenue of about $4.2 million related to RINs sold from GreenWave distributions and pathway dispensing activity, noting there were no comparable RINs in the year-ago quarter.
He also said RNG volumes sold under fixed floor price contracts fell about 82.1% year over year due to the expiration of fixed price pathway contracts, and that RNG commodity revenue declined about 49.3%, which he said was offset by a 25.5% increase in RINs sold. In response to a question about the roll-off of fixed price contracts, Van Asdalan described a shift “away from fixed pricing into a more commodity and merchant availability,” tied to dispensing volumes in the transportation market and retaining more RINs for sale.
General and administrative expenses were $8.0 million, down $0.7 million, or 8.4%, from $8.7 million, which Van Asdalan said was primarily due to the vesting of certain restricted share awards in 2025.
Operating loss was $1.6 million in the first quarter of 2026, compared to operating income of $0.4 million a year earlier. Van Asdalan said the company recorded $4.2 million of costs in the quarter tied to RINs distributed from GreenWave when sold and costs related to pathway dispensing; there were no such expenses in the first quarter of 2025.
Net income was $5,000, compared to a net loss of $0.5 million in the year-ago quarter. Adjusted EBITDA was $10.8 million, up 22.8% from $8.8 million, while EBITDA was $9.4 million, up 40.3% from $6.7 million.
Segment highlights
RNG production: 1.4 million MMBtu in Q1 2026, flat year over year.
RNG segment revenue: $38.1 million, down 1% from $38.5 million.
RINs self-marketed: 12.4 million, up 25.5% from 9.9 million.
Average realized RIN price: $2.42 vs. $2.46 in Q1 2025.
Renewable electricity production: ~43,000 MWh, down 6.5% from ~46,000 MWh.
Renewable electricity revenue: $4.1 million, down 0.8% from $4.2 million.
Van Asdalan cited facility-level factors behind production changes, including lower output at Galveston after the landfill host assumed responsibility for wellfield operations and maintenance in Q1 2026, higher output at Atascocita tied to wellfield and collection system enhancements, and higher output at Apex following the June 2025 commissioning of a second facility and landfill collection improvements. McCarty production declined due to landfill host wellfield bifurcation and changes to the collection system.
Renewable electricity operating and maintenance expenses rose to $4.5 million from $3.4 million, which Van Asdalan said was primarily driven by $0.8 million of increased non-capitalizable costs at the Montauk Ag Renewables project, along with timing-related maintenance items.
Financing, liquidity, and capital spending
Van Asdalan said Montauk entered into a new five-year senior secured credit facility on March 9, 2026 with a wholly owned subsidiary of Hannon Armstrong Capital LLC, consisting of up to $200 million in senior indebtedness. He said the proceeds were used to repay all outstanding debt, and that the company recorded $1.0 million in debt extinguishment costs in the quarter. The facility matures in March 2031, and Van Asdalan said the company is required to make interest payments during the first two years.
As of March 31, 2026, Montauk had $155 million outstanding under the new facility, and cash and cash equivalents net of restricted cash of about $25.9 million. Capital expenditures were $38.6 million during the first three months of 2026, including $33.1 million related to Montauk Ag Renewables and $1.8 million related to the Bowerman RNG facility. Van Asdalan also noted about $19.6 million of capital expenditures were included in accounts payable at quarter end.
Full-year 2026 outlook reaffirmed; electricity revenue range updated
McClain said the company does not provide guidance on environmental attribute prices such as D3 RINs, but reaffirmed its full-year 2026 outlook for volumes and revenue ranges:
RNG production: 5.8 to 6.0 million MMBtu; RNG revenue: $175 million to $190 million
Renewable electricity production: 195,000 to 207,000 MWh; renewable electricity revenue: $33 million to $37 million
McClain said the updated renewable electricity revenue outlook reflects the company’s current expectations for production at the Montauk Ag Renewables facility in North Carolina.
About Montauk Renewables (NASDAQ:MNTK)
Montauk Renewables Holdings, Inc is a renewable energy company headquartered in Irving, Texas, specializing in the capture and conversion of landfill gas into clean energy products. The company’s core operations focus on the design, development and operation of landfill gas collection systems that extract methane and other biogases generated by municipal solid waste. Montauk processes this gas into renewable natural gas (RNG) suitable for pipeline injection and also generates electricity for sale to utilities and commercial consumers.
Through its subsidiaries, Montauk provides a suite of environmental and waste‐management services across the United States and Canada.
