Duke energy take minority stake in renewable natural gas company, SustainRNG
This week, Duke Energy announced a partnership with SustainRNG to
harness renewable natural gas (RNG) on dairy farms, starting in the
southeastern US.
Duke Energy invested in a minority share of the company and
retains the option to invest in future operating projects; however, the terms
of the overall transaction were not disclosed.
SustainRNG will engineer, finance, construct and operate RNG sites
alongside dairy farmers. By capturing and processing methane from farms into
RNG, the companies aim to provide a locally generated renewable energy source via
injection into the existing natural gas pipeline network.
The projects will provide an additional revenue stream for farmers
while simultaneously reducing their waste management liability.
RNG is methane that has been captured from the breakdown of
organic waste and processed to remove contaminants and meet natural gas
pipeline quality standards. Trane Technologies invented the advanced methane
generation technology and has exclusively licensed its technology to SustainRNG
for use in agriculture.
The technology uses specialized anaerobic digestion units, or
parallel flow digesters, that stratify the flow of particles by size,
facilitating the breakdown of the organic materials in manure. SustainRNG will
use the technology to deploy digesters on dairy farms of 3,000 to 6,000 head
that use water wash-down manure management, which is currently an underserved
niche in the dairy digester market.
SustainRNG expects to complete its first project in
2021.
“We are excited to be partnering with dairy farmers, who will be
co-owners of the projects and have a stake in their success,” said SustainRNG
Chief Executive Officer Michael Shore. “Equally important, our projects will
help farmers to be more sustainable locally and leverage the power of the
agriculture sector to mitigate climate change.”
Phillip Grigsby, Duke Energy’s senior vice president of ventures
and business development, added, “In addition, these projects will create jobs,
both in the construction and ongoing operation of the RNG facilities.”
