Clean Energy Fuels Corp., a Newport Beach, California-based provider of clean fuel for the transportation market, and Energy Works, one of the nation’s largest dairy digester developers, have announced a joint development agreement to build nine renewable natural gas (RNG) production facilities at dairy farms across seven states.

The new endeavor will include dairies located in Colorado, South Dakota, Georgia, Florida, Iowa, Nebraska and New Mexico. The projects will collect the manure from a combined herd of approximately 35,000 cows.

The nine projects, each subject to finalizing diligence before beginning construction, are expected to be completed in 2026 and will produce and estimated 4 million gallons of clean RNG annually. The RNG produced will enter Clean Energy’s nationwide network of RNG stations.

Maas Energy Works has completed over 60 diary digester projects over the past decade. The team specializes in lagoon cover digesters which involve a large tarp over a manure lagoon to capture the methane emissions. This process makes the facilities less expensive to build and operate compared to tank digesters seen at other RNG plants, the companies say.

RELATED: Clean Energy opens Iowa RNG facility

Financed by Clean Energy, the nine sites are forecasted to cost approximately $130 million in total.

“This [joint venture] brings together expertise from a seasoned RNG developer and producer and Clean Energy’s extensive RNG distribution network and growing RNG customer base," says Clay Corbus, senior vice president of Clean Energy. "We are excited to continue our long working relationship with the team at Maas Energy Works to get these facilities online and produce pipeline-quality RNG to help supply our transportation fleet customers with clean fuel to help them meet their sustainability goals."

Agriculture accounts for nearly 10 percent of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions and the transportation sector accounts for another 28 percent, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

“This joint venture is clear proof that family farms paired with private businesses are an unstopped force in achieving decarbonization," Maas Energy Works CEO Daryl Maas says. "If the markets for renewable fuels are clear and consistent, then America’s biogas industry will deliver."

*This item was edited Aug. 8, 2024, to correct the spelling of Maas Energy and dairies.