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Michigan dairy digester projects gain state approvals

Progress is nearly complete for several dairy farm anaerobic digester projects in Michigan.

Founder and CEO of the global waste solutions company Brightmark Bob Powell tells Brownfield the company has partnered with seven farms across West Michigan to produce renewable natural gas at five facilities.

“I’m happy to say four of the five are in full production mode with the project in Coopersville nearly fully operational as we speak now,” he shares. “It’s really exciting the progress we’ve made in those years starting back in Michigan around 2020.”

Joint-venture partner Chevron recently received a $100 million tax-exempt bond from the state to reimburse project costs.

Powell says the systems will provide farmers with additional revenue streams and lower the nutrient impact of the manure through the process.

“Every year we offset enough greenhouse gases from manure from those farms to be the equivalent of planting over 179,000 acres of forest each year,” he shares.

Powell says he’s excited for future dairy project opportunities across the Midwest once construction is completed at current sites.

The state of Michigan has also approved a $235 million bond for an additional four digester projects in the state with BerQ.

BerQ RNG and Bright Renewables are partners on the projects that could start producing renewable natural gas by next summer at some locations.

AUDIO: Interview with Bob Powell, Brightmark

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