RETTEW Project Earns Grand Award in 2026 ACEC Ohio Engineering Excellence Awards

• February 20, 2026
• Written by: Gabbie O'Grady
• Awards

RETTEW is pleased to announce our Synthica St. Bernard Organics‑to‑Energy project has been named the Grand Award winner in the 2026 Engineering Excellence Awards presented by the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) of Ohio.

The project was selected from 24 submissions evaluated by a panel of professional engineers and surveyors. It first earned an Outstanding Achievement Award, placing it among the competition’s top-ranked projects, before being recognized as the overall Grand Award recipient at yesterday’s ceremony in Dublin, Ohio.

Located in Cincinnati, the Synthica St. Bernard facility is one of the largest food‑waste‑only anaerobic digestion plants in the United States. RETTEW served as lead design engineer for the $80 million facility, which converts food and industrial organic waste into renewable natural gas (RNG). Designed to process approximately 190,000 tons of organic waste per year, the facility incorporates pilot-scale testing, advanced biological controls, and innovative applications of proven technologies to address complex technical challenges, including the digestion of high-salinity waste streams. At full capacity, the facility is expected to generate enough RNG to power roughly 4,000 homes, while diverting significant volumes of organic waste from landfills and reducing methane emissions.

The project was delivered through close collaboration among Synthica Energy, Building Crafts, and RETTEW. This is the first time a RETTEW project has received an honor of this magnitude in the ACEC Ohio competition.

The project will now advance to the National ACEC Engineering Excellence Awards.