Clean Energy Fuels Corp. and dairy digester developer Maas Energy Works have reached a new joint development agreement to build nine renewable natural gas (RNG) production facilities at dairy farms across seven states.
This new endeavor will include dairies in Colorado, South Dakota, Georgia, Florida, Iowa, Nebraska and New Mexico, and will collect the manure from a combined herd size of approximately 35,000 cows, preventing the methane emissions from entering the atmosphere.
The nine projects, each subject to completing diligence before beginning construction, are expected to be finished in 2026. They will produce up to an estimated four million gallons of ultra-clean RNG annually, a negative carbon-intensity transportation fuel that will make its way into Clean Energy’s nationwide network of RNG stations.
Industry pioneer Maas Energy Works has completed over 60 dairy digester projects in the past decade. The team specializes in lagoon cover digesters that involve a large tarp over a manure lagoon to capture the methane emissions. This process makes these facilities significantly less expensive to build and operate compared with tank digesters seen at other RNG plants. Financed by Clean Energy, the nine sites are forecasted to cost about $130 million in total.
“This JV brings together expertise from a seasoned RNG developer and producer and Clean Energy’s extensive RNG distribution network and growing RNG customer base,” says Clay Corbus, senior vice president at Clean Energy. “We are excited to continue our long working relationship with the team at Maas Energy Works to get these facilities online and producing pipeline quality RNG to help supply our transportation fleet customers with clean fuel to help them meet their sustainability goals.”.
“This joint venture is clear proof that family farms paired with private businesses are an unstopped force in achieving decarbonization,” adds Daryl Maas, CEO of Maas Energy Works. “If the markets for renewable fuels are clear and consistent, then America’s biogas industry will deliver. We will soon be capturing fugitive manure emissions and turning them into carbon-negative truck fuel with our partners at Clean Energy.”
