Brightmark, Chevron achieve first RNG milestone with Florida’s largest family dairy

Brightmark RNG Holdings LLC, a joint venture partnership between Chevron U.S.A. Inc. and Brightmark Fund Holdings LLC, announces the delivery of the first renewable natural gas (RNG) from its Larson Project in Okeechobee County, Fla. The Larson Project is comprised of four lagoon anaerobic digesters located at Larson Family Farms. This marks the joint venture’s inaugural RNG project in the state and builds on the joint venture’s extensive network of projects across the U.S. to produce dairy RNG for lower carbon intensity transportation fuel.

The Larson Project captures methane from cow manure through the process of anaerobic digestion and converts it to RNG. Methane is a potent greenhouse gas (GHG), the second most abundant GHG, and is responsible for roughly 17.3 per cent of global emissions.

The produced RNG is used as transportation fuel, and the remaining solids are transformed into organic fertilizer. In addition, recaptured water returns directly to the farm or site where the digester is located for reuse. The project delivers several environmental benefits, such as odour mitigation and air quality, soil stabilization, and nutrient control, improves the economics of dairy farming, and reduces the carbon intensity of agricultural practices.

“This ‘first gas’ milestone with Larson Family Farms is a testament to the power that a circular solution like anaerobic digestion has to dramatically reduce methane emissions and promote economic development in local communities,” remarked Bob Powell, CEO and founder of Brightmark. “Our collaboration with Chevron and Larson demonstrates the continued growth of the RNG market propelled by the agricultural and food waste industry.”

“We are excited to achieve this milestone in our first joint renewable natural gas project in Florida with Brightmark and a notable farming family,” said Nuray Elci, general manager of renewables in Chevron’s Americas Products business. “These projects support production of affordable and reliable energy and help accelerate lower carbon solutions.”

Brightmark aims to reduce GHG emissions and achieve significant improvements in water quality by adopting economically viable technologies and practices throughout the industry. Brightmark recently reached a substantial company milestone, reducing more than 500,000 tons of CO2eq through its RNG portfolio of nearly 30 projects across 40 farms nationwide. With this project, Brightmark is able to reduce over 57,000 tons of CO2eq from being released into the atmosphere every year. That is equivalent to planting over 75,000 acres of forest every year.

“Our continued partnership with Brightmark demonstrates the cost-effectiveness of this project for it to be sustainable and beneficial to farmers like us,” stated Woody Larson, founding rancher, Family Tree Enterprises (owner of Larson Family Farms). “The value of the RNG produced balances the offsets associated with production while maintaining the health of the farm and its animals.”