California-based Clean Energy, America's largest provider of clean fuel for the transportation industry, has begun the construction of three new renewable natural gas (RNG) production facilities as part of a development agreement with Maas Energy Works.
These latest projects, however, might not be what you'd expect—they involve six dairies (yes, the kind that produce milk) located in South Dakota, Georgia, Florida, and New Mexico. The projects are forecasted to cost $80 million and should be completed sometime next year.
[Related: Clean Energy's new RNG production facility requires over 2,000 cows]
So what do milk-producing dairies have to do with RNG? One word: cattle, which are the world's No. 1 source of greenhouse gases. Cows belch, after all, and, in turn, each cow belches 220 pounds of methane annually. Bear in mind that agriculture alone accounts for nearly 10% of America's greenhouse gas emissions, compared to the transportation sector's 28% contribution, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Capturing methane from farm waste helps reduce emissions as RNG is produced from organic materials that are broken down either in an oxygen-free environment (anaerobic digestion) or through gasification.
Clean Energy's latest project involves capturing that methane from a combined herd of 24,300 dairy-producing cows, thus preventing emissions from entering the atmosphere. In turn, the RNG produced will be turned into fuel to power heavy-duty trucks, transit, and vocational fleets across the country that'll be distributed to Clean Energy's over 600 stations.
[Related: RNG-fueled trucks 'most compelling carbon reduction strategy,' says Hexagon Agility VP]
Where does Maas Energy Works come into the picture? It has a unique and cost-effective covered lagoon system used to capture methane from stored manure instead of the typical anaerobic digester tanks that cost more to build and operate.
"Partnering with an industry leader like Maas Energy Works on these projects will enable us to quickly bring meaningful volumes of ultraclean fuel to the transportation market," said Clay Corbus, senior vice president of renewables at Clean Energy. "We’re seeing rising demand for RNG from fleets looking to decarbonize, and breaking ground on these production facilities is a significant step forward in meeting that need."
