PurposeEnergy opens anaerobic digestion facility with Ben & Jerry’s

PurposeEnergy, a Windham, New Hampshire-based provider of organic waste-to-renewable energy solutions, has opened its anaerobic digestion facility in St. Albans, Vermont.

Construction began in May 2023 and the facility began exporting electricity to the Vermont grid in December 2024. The company says this milestone marks its first project fully funded by Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners following the firm’s acquisition of PurposeEnergy in April 2023.

PurposeEnergy and Vermont-based ice cream manufacturer Ben & Jerry’s signed a long-term feedstock agreement in 2021, laying the groundwork for the St. Albans facility, which converts high-strength organic waste and out-of-spec food products into renewable energy and clean water. Ben & Jerry’s sends production waste streams via a dedicated pipeline directly to the facility.

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Additional feedstocks from regional producers are transported by Casella, Rutland, Vermont; Wind River Environmental; Evergreen Services; and Carmichael Trucking, helping to centralize food waste management and expand the facility’s positive environmental impact.

“This project strengthens Ben & Jerry’s commitment to environmental sustainability by providing a long-term solution for organic waste,” says Ben & Jerry’s Global Sustainability Manager Jenna Evans. “It will reduce Vermont’s road traffic, lower greenhouse gas emissions and decrease phosphorous pollution.”

PurposeEnergy-St. Albans was built on land purchased from Franklin County Industrial Development Corporation and is expected to generate 8,750,000 kWh annually of renewable electricity exported to the Vermont grid under the state’s Standard Offer program, which supports the deployment of small-scale renewable generation, the company says.

Simultaneously, the facility recovers up to 45,000 million Btu annually of renewable thermal energy used to heat the digester and support facility operations.

“This facility represents a major step forward in sustainable infrastructure for food manufacturing in Vermont,” says Erik Lallum, chief development officer of PurposeEnergy. “It’s a model of industrial symbiosis—turning food production waste into clean energy, reducing emissions and supporting local economies."