Clean Energy Fuels Corp. has successfully completed construction of its latest renewable natural gas (RNG) facility at Victory Farms Dairy in Revillo, South Dakota, and is injecting pipeline-quality RNG into the interstate natural gas infrastructure.
The Victory Farms two-digester facility is using the manure of 6,000 Jersey cows, which could process approximately 120,000 gallons of manure each day to produce an estimated 900,000 gallons of negative carbon-intensity RNG annually.
Ultra-clean RNG produced at the facility will find its way to Clean Energy’s fueling network, helping commercial fleets reduce their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions significantly and immediately. Clean Energy currently operates over 600 stations around North America that provide fuel and services. Its customers include leading logistics operators such as UPS and Amazon; many transit agencies including those in New York City and Los Angeles; and dozens of waste companies including WM, Republic Services and Waste Connections.
Developed in partnership with Dynamic Renewables and financed through one of Clean Energy’s production joint ventures, the RNG facility’s construction costs — including the build of the manure collection facility, digestors and processing plant — totaled about $26 million. Clean Energy is filing the necessary applications to generate federal and state environmental credits.
“We are committed to working with dairies to bring more RNG into the market,” says Clay Corbus, senior vice president of renewables at Clean Energy. “Projects like Victory Farms will provide us the fuel to help decarbonize heavy-duty transportation while simultaneously providing an additional revenue stream for dairy owners and helping with their waste management. With fleets quickly learning that RNG is a proven solution readily available now, it is perfect timing that Victory Farms and the other dairy facilities are coming online to meet the growing demand.”
“Victory Farms is part of an industry that is uniquely positioned to have the opportunity to produce such a sustainable and valuable by-product from everyday waste,” say the owners of Victory Farms. “We are incredibly proud of what we are doing here, and that we’ve been able to partner with Clean Energy to help create a healthier planet.”
Agriculture accounts for nearly 10% of U.S. GHG emissions, and the transportation sector accounts for another 28%, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Capturing methane from farm waste lowers these emissions. RNG, produced by that captured methane and used as a transportation fuel, significantly lowers GHG emissions on a lifecycle basis compared with diesel.
