Sacramento, California - The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), the California Air Resources Board (CARB), and the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) have announced funding for six pilot projects in the San Joaquin and Sacramento Valleys designed to demonstrate the collection of biomethane from dairy digesters and its injection into natural gas pipelines. The production of biomethane from organic waste products, including animal manure, eliminates significant emissions of methane to the atmosphere.
The selected project locations and developers are:
- South Tulare: California Bioenergy
- North Visalia: California Bioenergy
- Buttonwillow: California Bioenergy
- Merced (CEE): Maas Energy Works
- Lakeside: Maas Energy Works
- Weststeyn: DVO, Inc.
The CPUC created the dairy biomethane pilot program as part of the state’s s strategy to reduce emissions of short-lived climate pollutants, including methane. Legislation adopted in 2016 requires the state to reduce methane emissions from the dairy and other livestock sectors by 40 percent by 2030. The interagency committee that selected the projects consisted of representative from the CPUC, CARB, and CDFA.
“The pilots chosen will provide us with valuable information about the interconnection process and hopefully facilitate other biomethane projects,” said CPUC Commissioner Clifford Rechtschaffen.
Forty-five dairies will participate in the pilot projects, which will significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions by putting dairy methane waste to beneficial use as a renewable transportation fuel. The six projects will receive approximately $319 million in infrastructure investments and operation expenses over the next 20 years.
