@Jaaa When Ecogas decided to upgrade the plant to allow...

@Jaaa When Ecogas decided to upgrade the plant to allow biomethane to be put directly into the NZ grid (exactly what DEL has planned for SA1), they didn't turn to DEL, but to another (presumably local) company.

If you do some research, you'll find that the local WA council in the RichGro area is collaborating with RichGro to allow residents to take digestible material to the site. The facilities are an engineering marvel.

https://www.ecogas.co.nz/news/firstgas-group-and-ecogas-to-turn-biogas-into-renewable-gas-to-inject-into-gas-network

Everything I've read indicates the NZ plant is a huge success. And why wouldn't it be. DEL has some talented engineers and designers who really know what they are doing. My gripe has always been with the business side of the company, not the quality of the builds.

The real issue is whether the economics stack up to allow SA1 and VIC1 to proceed in an anticipated lower interest rate environment. Financing couldn't be sourced even during the emergency interest rates during COVID. Otherwise, DEL will have to decide whether or not building these sites for others is financially viable for the long term -- which is essentially what's happening now. The latest quarterly results are certainly encouraging.

Also interestingly, no new sites (for others) have been announced in almost 3 years, so they're obviously not considered an attractive prospect. It's weird...you'd think someone, somewhere in Australia or NZ would be crying out for a site and DEL is the obvious builder. The technology and the resultant free, green gas (after charging a gate fee / toll) and saleable digestate is almost miraculous.

When apartments are built off the plan, it's often the purchaser who makes the money, not the company who built them. Margins are notoriously thin. Labour costs high. Materials costs unpredictable. The real value is in owning the assets and enjoying the capital gains of the land/plant and productivity of the asset.

Then again, anaerobic digestion plants are such a niche market that perhaps DEL has a moat of sorts and can charge clients above market rates.

I agree that DEL really came through for Ecogas and enhanced its reputation greatly for completing the project and doing what they said they would do. It's why Ecogas's decision to not use DEL to upgrade the plant surprised me.

The next 12 months will be critical for DEL. I suspect everyone who wants to sell their DEL shares has already done so, and that any positive news will see new buyers enter, and welcome, upward pressure on the share price.

Good luck to you, and with your investment.