Project to be developed in partnership with Vlot Calf Ranch in Chowchilla, CA
SAN FRANCISCO/SAN RAMON, Calif. – Brightmark RNG Holdings LLC – a joint venture partnership between Chevron U.S.A. Inc. and Brightmark Fund Holdings LLC, a subsidiary of the global waste solutions provider Brightmark LLC – today announced plans to construct an anaerobic digestion project at Vlot Calf Ranch in Chowchilla, California.
The Vlot anaerobic digestion project is anticipated to capture, clean, and convert methane from manure that would otherwise escape to the atmosphere on the Vlot Calf Ranch and dairy farm into renewable natural gas (RNG). When used in the transportation sector, renewable natural gas from dairy operations has a negative carbon intensity on a lifecycle basis under California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard. The Vlot Project is Brightmark RNG Holdings LLC’s first renewable natural gas project in the state of California.
“The Vlot Project represents a major milestone for Brightmark and its RNG production efforts,” said Bob Powell, founder and chief executive officer of Brightmark. “Being able to partner with Chevron and the Vlot Calf Ranch on our largest RNG project to date and first project in our home state of California represents a particular point of pride for our company and efforts.”
“As a California company, Chevron has provided the state’s residents with affordable, reliable energy for more than 140 years,” said Andy Walz, president of Americas Fuels & Lubricants for Chevron. “Developing and delivering renewable natural gas with Brightmark and the Vlot Calf Ranch, once completed, demonstrates our commitment to working across critical sectors of the state’s economy to increase the supply of fuels with a lower lifecycle carbon intensity.”
“Sustainability considerations and agriculture go hand-in-hand; one cannot exist without the other,” said Case Vlot of Vlot Calf Ranch. “As farmers and livestock owners, we take pride in caring for our land and environment because we know that when we do that, it will in turn, take care of us and our animals. It is what farmers, ranchers and dairy farmers do. Innovation in agriculture is constant and ever-changing. This digester is another step in providing environmental benefits to our farm and surroundings. In this case, it’s utilizing the manure from our cattle in an anaerobic digester that will help generate those benefits to continue our legacy in sustainability. We are looking forward to seeing this project completed.”
The project is expected to be completed in 2023. Other renewable products generated by the project include recycled water back to the farm, biofertilizer and digested dairy fiber, which can be used as cow bedding or as a peat moss substitute.
