Clean Energy Fuels Corp. (CLNE), the U.S.'s largest provider of clean fuel for the transportation industry, has inaugurated its latest renewable natural gas (RNG) production facility at Ash Grove Dairy in Lake Benton, Minnesota - and it requires over 2,000 dairy-producing cows.
The 55-acre site's cows already produce milk, cheese, and yoghurt, but cattle are also the world's No. 1 source of greenhouse gases. Each cow, for example, belches 220 pounds of methane annually. Agriculture, in general, accounts for almost 10% of America's greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions while the transportation sector contributes 28%, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Capturing methane from farm waste, however, lowers emissions. RNG is made from organic matter which then needs to be broken down in an oxygen-free environment or through gasification. Here, Clean Energy's freestanding one-digester facility will process up to 60,000 gallons of manure daily, capture its harmful methane, and prevent it from entering the atmosphere. This biogas will then be converted into an estimated 165 MMBtus of RNG every day.
RNG, produced by captured methane and used as a transportation fuel, significantly lowers GHG emissions on a lifecycle basis when compared to traditional diesel. This allows RNG to be one of the only fuels to receive a negative carbon-intensity score based on the reduction of emissions at the source and at the vehicle.
[Related: RNG-fueled trucks 'most compelling carbon reduction strategy,' says Hexagon Agility VP]
Sourced domestically, natural gas vehicles (NGVs) fueled by RNG are more cost effective and meet efficiency requirements for the EPA Clean Trucks Plan.
“Ash Grove is our fifth renewable natural gas facility to come online in the last nine months,” said Clay Corbus, senior vice president at Clean Energy, “It’s always rewarding to see our efforts come to fruition when we begin injecting. With the growing demand for RNG, and interest really starting to take off as fleets realize how effective and immediate they can fuel cleanly, the RNG produced at Ash Grove will directly help with reducing carbon emissions across the country.”
This $22 million project was financed by Clean Energy's joint ventures and developed by Dynamic Renewables.
Clean Energy confirmed it has successfully completed the required gas testing. Ready-to-use RNG production is underway and the necessary applications for state and federal environmental credits are being filed.
