Hitachi Zosen Inova to build RNG plant in Kentucky

Hitachi Zosen Inova USA LLC (HZI), Knoxville, Tennessee, has been contracted to design, supply and install an integrated renewable natural gas (RNG) plant consisting of a 648,000-gallon-per-day wet anaerobic digester (AD), amine biogas upgrader system (BGU), integrated process piping and controls for 3 Rivers Energy Partners.

The facility, owned and operated by 3 Rivers Energy Partners of Constantine, Michigan, will use wet AD technology that will use spent stillage as feedstock, allowing the plant to convert waste into energy. The AD system will power an adjacent distillery with RNG, providing 65 percent of its gas needs. The RNG facility will help to reduce overall greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 50 percent.

“When it came time to pick a partner to help us build one of the country’s largest renewable natural gas production and treatment facilities, we knew we needed a company with superior expertise and experience. Hitachi Zosen Inova was a clear choice for us,” 3 Rivers Energy Partners CEO John Rivers says.

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Once in operation, this facility will produce approximately 2,700 standard cubic feet per minute of RNG to power the adjacent distillery. The byproduct from the AD and RNG processes is the production of a fertilizer which can be used in local agriculture.

“HZI is very excited to execute what we anticipate will be one of many innovative renewable energy projects with 3 Rivers Energy Partners,” HZI Sales Manager Joe Szczepkowski says. “Providing integrated energy recovery solutions from waste products is fundamentally what HZI does, and this supports our vision for the future.”

The construction and later commissioning phases of the facility can now commence with operations at the new AD and RNG facilities expected to start in December 2024.

“Providing large-scale, innovative and integrated waste to renewable gas solutions to companies like 3 Rivers Energy Partners highlights the confidence that iconic brands and developers have in HZI’s team and its capabilities in the U.S.” HZI Managing Director for North America Heath Jones says.

Plants like this facility are a vital step toward providing integrated resource recovery solutions, HZI says. By using stillage from distilleries as a feedstock, this facility will create a localized circular economy in the surrounding area. Resource recovery, recycling and using biogas technology play special roles in generating renewable energy and reducing energy consumption and GHG emissions over the long term.