From Tequila Waste To Verified Clean Fuel

Brimex Energy SA de CV (Brimex Energy) announced that its renewable natural gas (RNG) facility in Lagos de Moreno is the first renewable thermal project in Mexico to be registered on the CleanCounts Registry (M-RETS), operated by CleanCounts, the nonprofit that runs North America’s largest clean energy registry. The announcement was made jointly at the Mexico Carbon Forum in Aguascalientes (September 2 and 3) and at the Renewable Energy Markets conference in Washington, DC (September 1 through 3), reaching Mexico’s environmental markets community and the North American clean energy buyers who transact on the registry. After an independent third-party engineering review by EcoEngineers found no exceptions, the registration approves Brimex to generate Renewable Thermal Certificates (RTCs), a class of Energy Attribute Certificate (EAC) issued for each dekatherm of verified renewable thermal energy the facility produces.

The Brimex facility converts organic waste from three industries that define the Altos de Jalisco region, namely dairy, swine production, and tequila. Whey and milk byproducts, swine manure, wastewater sludge, and vinasse from tequila distillation feed three on-site anaerobic digesters, drawing material from regional food and beverage producers, including tequila makers Teremana and Campo Azul and food companies Grupo Lala and Sigma Alimentos. The resulting biogas powers generators that sell electricity to the commercial grid, and a portion is upgraded into biomethane used as vehicle fuel. Brimex holds Mexico’s first federal permits for biomethane production and, since February 2026, its commercialization. The project’s registry account is held through Cyan Energy SA de CV, which serves as account holder and certificate marketer for the facility.

An EAC is the instrument that lets a buyer prove a clean energy claim. Each certificate carries a unique serial number and records the resource type, location, and production period of one unit of clean energy, creating an auditable chain of custody from generation through retirement. CleanCounts issued its two billionth certificate in 2025. Its software issues more than 40% of all renewable energy certificates in North America, and it was the first registry on the continent to track renewable thermal fuels. Its architecture is designed to prevent double counting, the risk that two parties claim the same unit of clean energy.

For Mexico’s emerging biomethane market, registry-grade tracking changes what producers can offer. Certificates give corporate buyers and regulators verifiable documentation of Mexican renewable fuel, recorded on the same infrastructure that utilities and Fortune 500 companies across the United States and Canada already rely on for compliance and sustainability reporting.

“We built this plant to prove that the waste streams of Los Altos, from the dairy barn to the tequila distillery, could provide clean energy to the region,” said Guillermo Chaim Serrano, chief executive officer of Brimex Energy. “Brimex opened Mexico’s biomethane market with the country’s first federal permits, and this registration is the next step. Every dekatherm we produce now carries proof that buyers and auditors across North America recognize.”

“Everyone can see what Brimex built in Lagos de Moreno: the digesters, the upgrading equipment, the fueling station. What no one sees is the infrastructure that makes those molecules count,” said Ben Gerber, President and CEO of CleanCounts. “Registries are the accounting layer of decarbonization. They make sure a dekatherm of Mexican biomethane is measured once, claimed once, and trusted by a buyer or auditor anywhere in North America. Extending that layer to Mexico is a proud moment for our team, and we expect Brimex to be the first of many as clean energy markets grow across Mexico.”

EcoEngineers, the Des Moines-based clean energy consulting and auditing firm acquired by global assurance partner LRQA in March 2025, performed the on-site engineering review of the Brimex facility in April 2025 and serves as the project’s independent reporting entity, delivering verified generation data into the registry.

“A certificate is only as strong as the verification behind it,” said Brad Pleima, PE, president of EcoEngineers. “Brimex reaching this milestone reflects the rigor and commitment required to establish credible environmental attributes. Our role goes beyond registration, bringing independent technical review, data validation, and ongoing audit expertise to help ensure those attributes are supported by a strong, defensible record. We’re proud to support CleanCounts, Brimex, and the Mexican energy market in reaching this important milestone and in the work that continues from here.”