Brightmark RNG Holdings has inaugurated its Eloy Renewable Natural Gas (RNG) center to produce RNG from dairy manure using anaerobic digestion technology in the Southwestern US.
Brightmark RNG Holdings is a joint venture between Chevron USA, a subsidiary of Chevron Corporation, and Brightmark Fund Holdings, a subsidiary of Brightmark. The joint venture operates a nationwide system of RNG projects, capturing methane from dairy operations for beneficial use as pipeline fuel.
The project is set to advance the latest phase of the organization's Eloy Circularity Center, which will begin operations with its lagoon anaerobic digesters at Caballero Dairy in the desert city of Eloy, Arizona.
Anaerobic digestion is a circular technology that captures animal manure and converts it into RNG, fertilizer, and water. These products are then recycled back into agricultural and energy systems for reuse.
"The Eloy circularity center's beauty resides in its use of technology based on ambient temperature with the Arizona heat,” said Bob Powell, Founder and CEO of Brightmark. “It presents an excellent opportunity for RNG to be generated in higher amounts, promoting lower-carbon intensity solutions."
The Eloy RNG project aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by harnessing solar heating for farm lagoons. The manure expected to be processed by the circularity center will be equivalent to the effect of planting over 37,000 acres of forest annually.
This approach will not only create jobs but also recycle resources back into agricultural and energy systems for soil stabilization, nutrient control, and mitigating odors at Caballero Dairy.
"Moving to a future energy economy with lower carbon intensity requires ambitious goals, continuous innovation, and pragmatic solutions," said Andy Walz, President of Chevron Americas Products. "Continued development in renewable natural gas projects creates new, lower carbon-intensity solutions for transportation, industry, and customers."
