The new dairy biogas facility in California captures methane from animal waste to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and provide pipeline-quality renewable natural gas
Image: The project marks the first dairy biogas facility in California. Photo: Courtesy of Gerald Krieseler from Pixabay.
Southern California Gas (SoCalGas), along with Calgren Dairy Fuels, and state and local elected officials, has announced the completion of Calgren’s dairy renewable natural gas facility, located in the Central Valley community of Pixley, California, US.
The project marks the first dairy biogas facility in California
Calgren collects cow manure from four local dairy farms and processes it in an anaerobic digester at the new facility to accelerate the natural decomposition process. The biogas (methane) produced from the process is captured and converted into renewable vehicle fuels.
The pipeline quality renewable natural gas (RNG) is produced and then injected into the SoCalGas pipeline system to supply RNG to existing compressed natural gas (CNG) refuelling facilities.
SoCalGas customer solutions vice president Jeff Walker said: “As part of our vision to be the cleanest natural gas company in North America, we have committed to replacing 20 percent of the natural gas we deliver today with renewable natural gas, primarily from organic sources, by 2030.
“Renewable natural gas is a ready, reliable and realistic way to reduce GHG emissions and pollution from heavy duty transportation and buildings and will help ensure that families and businesses have an affordable option for heating and cooking as California transitions to a clean energy future.”
The company said that the biogas is capable of fuelling ultra-low emission trucks and buses, generating clean electricity, and heating homes and businesses.
In addition, Calgren is planning to collaborate with eight other dairy farms by the end of 2019, making the facility the largest dairy biogas project in the country.
According to the company, 80% of methane emissions in California come from the organic wastes of farms, landfills, and wastewater treatment plants.
The Dairy Digester Research and Development Program in California, which aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from manure generated at state dairy farms, has provided partial funding for the dairy digesters in the project.
Calgren Renewable Fuels principal owner Walt Dwelle said: “Calgren is proud to be the first facility in California to operate a dairy digester pipeline cluster and to work with both the dairies and SoCalGas to mitigate emissions.
“This facility alone will eventually capture methane produced from the manure of more than 75,000 cows, preventing about 130,000 tons of greenhouse gas from entering the atmosphere each year, the equivalent of taking more than 25,000 passenger cars off the road for a year.”