SAN FRANCISCO/SAN RAMON, Calif. — Five anaerobic digestion dairy farm projects are coming to West Michigan thanks to a collaboration between two Californian companies.
The Castor Project, announced in Greenville Wednesday, will expand the state’s renewable natural gas (RNG) production, according to Brightmark.
RNG is made when animal waste is converted into renewable sources of fuel.
We’re told the newly announced projects are made possible from a partnership between Brightmark Fund Holdings and Chevron U.S.A.
“We’re excited to work with our partner Chevron and farmers in Michigan to progress the development of our RNG projects, which are designed to drive both lower carbon intensity outcomes for organic waste and investments in local farmers and their surrounding communities supporting lower carbon solutions,” says Brightmark CEO Bob Powell. “We are growing our network of strategic relationships with farmers across the country in order to advance the reduction of the agricultural industry's carbon intensity by seeking renewable fuels from new sources and considering circularity challenges at increasing scale."
Brightmark says the joint venture processes manure from a single digester before it is made into RNG, fertilizer and water that is recycled for agricultural and energy use. It is expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions equating to 179,000 acres of new forests planted annually.
The Castor Project is one of 20 RNG projects in the U.S., according to Brightmark.
