DTE Energy partners with Wisconsin dairy farm to create renewable natural gas

Published on August 20, 2018 by Dave Kovaleski


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DTE Energy recently launched a project with a Wisconsin dairy farm to create renewable natural gas from dairy cow waste.

The initiative, a joint effort with Pagel’s Ponderosa Dairy, will create fuel to power compressed natural gas vehicles. The facility will be based in Kewaunee, Wisc.

“This project demonstrates DTE’s commitment to invest in renewable energy projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions while providing customers with reliable and affordable energy, whether it’s light and heat for homes and businesses or clean fuel for vehicles,” Kevin Dobson, vice president of business development at DTE Biomass Energy, said.

How it works is waste generated by the Pagel’s dairy herd will be pumped into an underground anaerobic digester to capture the methane that’s released. This methane will then be refined and injected into a natural gas transmission line for use as an alternative vehicle fuel.

“We welcome the opportunity to partner with DTE on this project and to develop a sustainable source of renewable natural gas that can benefit everyone while reducing our farm’s environmental impact even more,” J.J. Pagel, owner of Pagel’s Ponderosa, said.

DTE estimates that this effort will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by an amount equal to removing 9,200 vehicles from the road or burning more than 4.8 million gallons of gasoline.

Construction on the facility should be complete in early 2019.

DTE is planning to build five such facilities in Wisconsin in the coming months, each generating 450,000 to 500,000 million BTUs of renewable natural gas each year. DTE already runs 21 landfill gas projects across the country.

“We believe projects like this represent a great opportunity for us to leverage our experience in renewable natural gas operations to reduce emissions, support businesses like Pagel’s Ponderosa and strengthen our commitment to environmental responsibility,” Dobson said.