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The liquid manure is
pumped into lagoons and There’s .nothing .wrong .
later spread on fields. Some with .somebody .who’s .
is traded to neighbors for going .to .bring .in .a .lot .of .
their corn for feed.
capital .getting .a .good .
The digester also nearly
eliminates the farm’s manure return, .but .there .comes .a .
odor, a side benefit which point .when .they .need .to .
can make livestock opera- share .that .back .
tions easier on neighbors.
—Mark Stoermann, .Newtrient
The system cost the Pagel oper-
ation $9 million to $10 million,
but a combination of govern- reduction in manure methane emissions by 2030
ment grants, including funding from USDA’s from its approximately 1.7 million dairy cows.
Environmental Quality Incentives Program and In order to get there, it has given grants totaling
Rural Energy for American Program, cut the more than $183 million for dairies to build 108
cost in half. digesters, according to a report from CoBank
There are 263 digesters currently in operation earlier this year.
in the U.S., according to EPA’s AgStar database. The state also has incentivized the use of renew-
Most — 207 — are at dairy operations, though able natural gas through its Low Carbon Fuel
there has been more interest recently in using Standard, whose goal is to reduce the carbon
digesters at swine or poultry operations. intensity of transportation fuels in the state and
Thirty-seven swine digesters are listed in the which has created a credit compliance market.
EPA database, including three completed this Fuels in the California transportation fuel pool
year. Of 19 digesters nationwide listed as cur- with a carbon intensity lower than the target
rently under construction, according to EPA, six established by the California Air Resources
are swine operations, including one combined Board generate LCFS credits; fuels with higher
swine/poultry digester. carbon intensity may need to buy credits to
Meatpacking giant Smithfield Foods is now comply with the standard.
promising to make its company-owned hog “Biogas from dairy manure, swine manure has
operations carbon neutral in 2030, partly by the lowest carbon intensity score by an order
converting manure gas into RNG. of magnitude compared to any other fuel out
One of its customers is Dominion Energy, a there,” says Kirk, which can make even smaller
major East Coast utility. Smithfield, which esti- projects financially attractive.
mates that emissions from hog manure account “If a project can sell into the California Trans-
for 40% to 45% of the company’s emissions, portation LCFS market, qualifies for carbon
says that nearly all of its finishing operations in credits, and (Renewable Identification Num-
North Carolina, Utah, Virginia and Missouri bers) as part of the Renewable Fuels Standard
will have RNG projects by 2028. it can be quite profitable,” says Mark Stoer-
California, which has 34 digesters in opera- mann, chief operating officer at Newtrient,
tion, has done a lot to spur the livestock indus- referring to all the credits available for renew-
try’s interest. The state has legislated a 40% able natural gas.
46 www.Agri-Pulse.com
