Clean Energy begins production at RNG digester

Newport Beach, California-based Clean Energy Fuels Corp. has announced the operational launch of its latest renewable natural gas (RNG) production facility at Tri-Cross Dairy in Viborg, South Dakota.

The RNG facility sits on a 5,000-cow dairy farm and is forecasted to produce 1 million gallons of negative carbon-intensity RNG each year. Clean Energy says the project represents a significant milestone in its ongoing goal to provide clean fuel for the transportation market at the company’s network of fueling stations across North America.

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Construction costs for the RNG production facility, which includes the build of digesters and processing plant, totaled $34 million. Construction was completed in December 2023 and injection of pipeline-quality RNG began shortly after completion. Clean Energy says it is in the process of filing the necessary applications to generate federal and state environmental credits.

“We anticipate 2024 to be a pivotal year in the demand for RNG fuel in the transportation market with the introduction of Cummins’ X15N natural gas engine for heavy-duty trucks,” says Clay Corbus, senior vice president for renewables at Clean Energy. “Clean Energy’s fueling infrastructure is expanding to meet that demand and we’ll need a constant source of additional low-carbon RNG to supply those stations. The new production facilities at Tri-Cross Dairy and other farms in the Midwest that are now producing RNG is a critical component to our strategy.”

Agriculture accounts for nearly 10 percent of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions (GHG), according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and capturing methane from farm waste can lower these emissions. RNG is a transportation fuel made entirely from organic waste and drastically reduces GHG emissions by an average of 300% versus diesel, according to the release.

Financing for the Tri-Cross Dairy project is backed by one of Clean Energy’s RNG production joint ventures and developed by Dynamic Renewables. The facility is one in a series of projects in the Midwest for which the companies have partnered.