U.S. Gain brings digester online to produce RNG

— By Michael Bates, U.S. Gain. This article was originally published June 29th on the U.S. Gain website.

U.S. Gain, a company that specializes in the development, procurement and distribution of renewable natural gas (RNG), says that after only eight months, their digester at S&S Jerseyland Dairy in Sturgeon Bay, Wis., is now transforming animal waste to clean, low-carbon fuel for the transportation market.

“We’re pleased to add this project to our RNG development portfolio – and in such a short amount of time,” says Mike Koel, president of U.S. Gain.

“As organizations continue the shift from fossil-based products to renewables, the demand for RNG as an alternative fuel and thermal energy continues to climb. We’re excited to be involved in so many dairy-based RNG development projects because of the multitude of benefits brought to rural and urban communities across the nation,” he adds.

The anaerobic digester at S&S Jerseyland Dairy has been operational since 2011, initially converting waste from the farm’s 4,000 Jersey cows to renewable power. U.S. Gain purchased the farm’s digester in September 2019 and made the upgrades needed for fuel production.

Gas collected at the facility is taken through a complex processing system that results in RNG consisting of 99.5% methane. The facility recently obtained project certification from the California Air Resources Board (CARB), Oregon Department of Environmental Quality and the Environmental Protection Agency. Typically, projects like these take 12 to 18 months to bring online.

A key partner to U.S. Gain throughout the project was Nacelle Solutions, a developer of gas clean-up equipment specifically designed for the RNG industry. RNG produced at S&S Jerseyland Dairy is transported to U.S. Gain’s new decant facility and then injected into the pipeline and transmitted to organizations throughout the nation seeking low carbon solutions to satisfy their sustainability targets.