Dover-based Chesapeake Utilities Corp. is expanding its renewable natural gas presence.
FPU Renewables LLC announced plans this week to construct, own and operate a dairy manure renewable natural gas facility at Full Circle Dairy in Madison County, FL. FPU Renewables and its parent, Florida Public Utilities Company, are subsidiaries of Chesapeake Utilities.
Renewable natural gas is viewed as a bridge toward reduced use of fossil fuels like natural gas
Renewable gas is produced by waste landfills, farms, dairies and other operations that generate methane that ends up in the atmosphere or waterways. In Chespeake’s home area on Delmarva, approvals are being sought for a plant that would convert chicken waste to natural gas that would be transported to points of entry in Chesapeake’s natural gas system.
The project has divided the environmental community. One element sees the site reducing chicken waste making its way into the water supply with others claiming process will harm the environment and is in the wrong location.
“Chesapeake Utilities is committed to being a leader in the transition to a lower-carbon future,” said Jeff Householder, CEO. “We continue to look for ways to displace more carbon-intensive fuels, and we’re working hard to develop waste-to-energy production facilities, and associated infrastructure, that improve agricultural conditions in Florida and other service areas. Collaborations such as the one with Full Circle Dairy are continuing to move both the energy and agricultural industries toward a more sustainable future.”
The $22 million project will capture and clean methane from manure, with the first injection of RNG projected to occur in 2024. Chesapeake Utilities is evaluating further investment opportunities to bring the RNG produced at the facility to market.
The dairy recycles manure produced at the farm by using it as fertilizer in the fields that grow feed for the herd. The addition of a digester onsite at the farm will advance Full Circle Dairy’s commitment by additionally decreasing methane and greenhouse gas emissions.
The project is estimated to capture and redirect approximately 1,116 metric tons of methane per year. Using the EPA greenhouse gas calculator, these numbers reflect a minimum greenhouse gas emissions reduction equivalent to 6,012 gasoline-powered passenger vehicles driven for one year and CO2 emissions reduction equivalent to the annual energy consumption of 3,514 homes.
Chesapeake Utilities’ RNG related investments include the Noble Road RNG pipeline project in Ohio; the acquisition of Planet Found Energy Development, LLC, a poultry waste to biogas pilot facility in Maryland; and the recent announcement of a RNG injection site in Nassau County, FL.
Chesapeake also has the Marlin trucking operation that can transport natural gas from renewable sources without a pipeline.
