International
Wisconsin project will create enough bio-CNG to travel 1,270,000 miles
Brightmark Energy, a San Francisco-based waste and energy development company, has purchased an anaerobic digester northwest of Madison, Wisconsin that will convert 90,000 gallons per day of dairy waste from three local farms into biogas and other useful products. After planned installation of gas upgrade equipment is completed, the project is projected to produce enough renewable natural gas to replace at least 50,000 MMBtu of conventional natural gas each year. That is enough fuel to travel 1,270,000 miles in a CNG bus, or from San Francisco to New York and back over 200 times. Brightmark Energy purchased the digester from Clean Fuel Partners, which will continue its work on the project by providing operations and maintenance support.
The project was developed in close coordination with Dane County, Wisconsin. After all phases of the improvement project are complete, the biomethane collected from the anaerobic digester will be transported to the county’s recently completed landfill-gas-processing facility, where it will be injected directly into an interstate pipeline owned by ANR Pipeline Company. The Dane County facility is the first such facility in the United States designed to receive biogas from multiple off-site locations and connect that renewable gas with CNG stations locally and across the nation.
“Brightmark is thrilled to have the opportunity to participate in this unique gas-processing facility here in Wisconsin,” said Brightmark Energy CEO Bob Powell. “This project is a win-win for all – it’s good for the local environment, good for the regional economy, and good for the climate.”
“We look forward to working with Brightmark Energy as they invest in additional renewable natural gas and manure treatment facilities,” said Dane County Executive Joe Parisi. “This community digester represents a victory for family dairy farms, cleaner air, and cleaner lakes.”
John Haeckel, Founder and CEO of Clean Fuel Partners, added, “We look forward to Brightmark taking this facility to a new level. Their investment will create both long-term viability and increased manure processing for the surrounding area a key goal behind the original cooperative development of the project with Dane County.”
