Last month we attended Biogas Americas 2026, the largest Biogas and Renewable Natural Gas (RNG) conference in North America and without a doubt, the flagship event for both the industry and the American Biogas Council.
Bringing together more than 2,000 industry professionals, project developers, operators, tech providers, investors and policymakers, the event once again demonstrated why the US remains one of the most exciting RNG markets in the world, with incredible potential.
As the first recruitment business to join the American Biogas Council, attending Biogas Americas is always a vital opportunity for us to meet both our clients and candidates, helping us strengthen existing relationships whilst building new connections and giving us the opportunity to shape the industry’s future.
This year, the event felt noticeably different. While previous years were dominated by discussions around project development and deployment, the conversations in Detroit focused more on operations, looking at asset performance and workforce capability.
One of the biggest takeaways from the conference was that the RNG sector in the U.S is still maturing, not only from a talent point of view but also from a lessons-learned perspective.
The market is no longer solely focused on building projects.
Many developers now have significant operational portfolios, creating a growing demand for experienced leaders who can improve performance, maximise uptime, reduce operating costs, and deliver long-term value from existing assets.
We had various meetings in Detroit this year with a huge mix of people and businesses, and the common theme that emerged was not surprising, considering what we are seeing from a recruitment standpoint.
“How do we get more out of the assets we already have?”
“Optimize, Optimize, Optimize”
This shift has been creating strong demand for experienced professionals across operations, maintenance, commissioning, controls, process optimization, and asset management.
Historically, technology and project financing have been the primary differentiators within the RNG market. But today we can see people are now just as important.
We can see that the competition for experienced RNG professionals remains fierce, particularly for:
Many of our clients and contacts spoke openly about succession planning, workforce development, and concerns around attracting experienced talent as their portfolios continue to expand.
Perhaps most interestingly, we’re seeing increasing crossover from conventional power generation, wastewater treatment, landfill gas, industrial processing, and natural gas infrastructure sectors. Companies are actively seeking professionals with transferable operational expertise who can help scale their businesses.
Another major trend we observed was the industry’s growing focus on optimization. Rather than simply developing additional projects, many operators are concentrating on improving gas yields, reducing downtime, increasing reliability, and enhancing overall plant performance.
This trend is creating demand for individuals who can bridge the gap between engineering and operations while delivering measurable commercial outcomes. Many leaders from the sector highlighted that operational excellence is becoming one of the most important drivers of profitability in today’s market.
Despite ongoing discussions around policy, tax incentives, carbon markets, and project economics, the overall mood across Detroit remained extremely positive.
The scale of attendance was a new record for the ABC and the number of exhibitors, and the level of investment being discussed all pointed towards a sector that continues to attract capital, innovation, and entrepreneurial talent.
Our view is clear that Biogas Americas continues to be the industry’s premier event, bringing together every part of the RNG value chain under one roof. For AD Energy, it was encouraging to see so many organisations already planning for growth through 2027 and beyond.
We want to say a huge thank you to everyone who took the time to meet with us throughout the week, especially those who filmed some content with us. We look forward to continuing those conversations and helping support the next phase of growth across the North American RNG industry.
See you in Louisville 2027!