Multiple dairy biomethane projects were recently awarded funding by members of the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), the California Air Resources Board (CARB), and the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA). Six pilot projects will be established in the San Joaquin and Sacramento Valleys by a total of three different developers. The projects will be receiving approximately $319 million for infrastructure investments and operating expenses over a period of 20 years.
“The pilots chosen will provide us with valuable information about the interconnection process and hopefully facilitate other biomethane projects,” CPUC Commissioner Clifford Rechtschaffen said in a news release.
The dairy biomethane projects were mandated in Senate Bill 1383, which is aimed at reducing organic waste in landfills and requiring regulations to reduce methane emissions from livestock and dairy manure operations. The CPUC established the dairy biomethane pilot program in order to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions by repurposing biomethane from organic waste products in dairy digesters to provide a beneficial use as a renewable transportation fuel.
“CalBio is honored to have been selected to develop these pilot projects which will produce clean, renewable CNG which will significantly lower the carbon intensity of California’s transportation and agriculture sectors,” California Bioenergy CEO N. Ross Buckenham said in a press release. “These projects represent a true public-private partnership. They help to create local jobs and generate a new revenue stream for the dairies, all while helping the state achieve its climate goals.”
California Bioenergy, Maas Energy Works and DVO, Inc. will all be working on projects designed for the collection of biomethane from dairy digesters and its injection into natural gas pipelines. The program enables dairies of all sizes to each connect to a single point of injection to the pipeline. A total of 45 dairies will all be participating in the pilot projects.
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