When I began my career nearly three decades ago, renewable energy was still finding its footing, and sustainability was more of a hopeful concept than a driving force. But even then, I saw the potential for engineering to shape a cleaner, more resilient future.
Now, as I step into the role of leading Mead & Hunt’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction (GHGR) group, I’ve been reflecting on how far we’ve come as an industry and as a company. Our 125-year history is a story of adaptation, innovation, and a commitment to doing what’s right for our clients, our communities, and the environment.
A Legacy of Innovation: Hydropower and the Seeds of Sustainability
Mead & Hunt’s renewable energy journey began in the early 1900s with hydroelectric design projects that powered growing communities. These early efforts weren’t labeled “sustainable” at the time, but they were rooted in the idea of working with natural systems to produce energy. Our founder, Daniel Mead, held expertise in the field of hydrologic engineering, leading him to consult on landmark projects like the Hoover Dam, which helped shape a mindset that still guides us today: use what’s available, minimize waste, and engineer for resilience.
That mindset has been a constant throughout my own career. Whether evaluating emerging energy pathways or rethinking how we use existing resources, I have always focused on creating lasting value through renewable and sustainable solutions.
Expanding the Toolkit: Biogas, Organics Recovery, and RNG
As environmental awareness grew in the late 20th century, so did the complexity of the challenges we faced. Our company began exploring anaerobic digestion as a way to treat wastewater while recovering energy. These early systems were often designed with multiple goals in mind, including reducing organic load, capturing methane, and generating power.
By the 2000s, we were working with municipal partners to turn biogas into usable energy. In the 2010s, we expanded into agricultural applications, designing systems that digest dairy manure and food waste at scale. Each project taught us something new about feedstock variability, nutrient recovery, and the importance of operator-friendly design.
Adapting to Emerging Technologies
Our timeline reveals incredibly diverse technologies, and we’ve adapted to each one as it emerged. Instead of simply adding new tools to our existing approach, we rethought how the entire system should work. When I look at how we evaluate technologies today—anaerobic digestion, landfill gas recovery, or RNG production—it’s no longer just about technical feasibility. We focus on system integration, lifecycle emissions, and long-term operability. We ask: Can this solution scale with demand? Will it hold up under regulatory scrutiny? Can it be maintained by the people who will run it every day?
That method has become second nature for our team. We’ve learned to approach every project with a systems mindset that considers not just the energy output, but the environmental, economic, and community impact in which it operates.
Lessons Learned and Evolving Best Practices
One of the most important lessons I’ve learned is that no two projects are the same—and that’s where the opportunity lies. Every site, every client, every feedstock presents a new set of variables. While these distinctions can be challenging, it’s also what keeps the work interesting.
When we approach a new project, we don’t start with a checklist. We come with questions. This approach helps us understand the full picture and guides us toward the right solution. We then design systems that are more durable, adaptable, and trusted by the people who rely on them.
The Present Moment: Momentum and Meaning
The impact of our work is real and measurable. Over the years, we’ve completed more than 105 biogas projects, generating over 182,000 standard cubic feet per minute (SCFM) of biogas. That’s equivalent to producing enough energy to power over 700,000 homes for an entire year—roughly the number of housing units in a city the size of Phoenix, AZ, with a population of 1,650,000.
For the average person, that means the energy from our projects could keep the lights on, the water hot, and the appliances running in every home across one major city for a full year. That’s the scale of impact we’re working toward.
Whether it’s a dairy digester in the Midwest or a merchant food waste facility on the West Coast, the work we do has ripple effects on air quality, energy independence, and the communities we serve.
Looking Ahead: Challenges Worth Solving
Of course, the work is far from done. The next wave of challenges is already here. We continually adapt to evolving regulations, tightening carbon markets, and increasing pressure to quantify impact. We’re also seeing a growing need for cross-sector collaboration between agriculture, utilities, municipalities, and data centers.
One of the biggest questions I’m thinking about right now is: How do we design systems that are both cutting-edge and practical? It’s easy to get caught up in the promise of new technology, but if it can’t be operated reliably or maintained affordably, it won’t deliver long-term value.
That’s where I see our role as engineers. We help bridge the gap between innovation and implementation.
A Personal Note
Stepping into this leadership role, I’m reminded of why I entered this field in the first place. I wanted to make a difference, to build systems that last, work with people who care, and to leave things better than we found them.
As Mead & Hunt celebrates 125 Years of Exceptional, I see our renewable energy work as a continuation of our founder’s legacy in renewable energy. He took an approach to engineering defined by curiosity, integrity, and a drive to serve. That’s the legacy I’m proud to carry forward. And that’s the future I’m excited to help shape.
