Aemetis begins production of dairy biogas

Aemetis Inc. announced today that it is producing dairy biogas from the first two dairies in a 17 dairy digester biogas project.  The below-zero carbon intensity gas is initially being utilized for the production of fuel ethanol at the Aemetis Advanced Fuels Keyes facility in Keyes, California.  Aemetis also produces high-grade sanitizer alcohol and various feed products at its Keyes facility.

“In just over one year, Aemetis Biogas has built and commissioned two dairy digesters and four miles of private pipeline that is now producing below-zero carbon intensity biogas used in the production of transportation fuel,” said Eric McAfee, chairman and CEO of Aemetis. “We are pleased with the rapid scale-up of our dairy methane to renewable natural gas (RNG) project and rapid progress toward producing large volumes of RNG for transportation fuel.  With the addition of 15 more dairy digesters, gas upgrading, utility interconnection, and dispensing RNG to truck fleets, Aemetis is well positioned to capitalize on the large below-zero carbon transportation market,” added McAfee.  “This project provides value to local dairies by creating a new revenue stream while meeting new California requirements for a significant reduction in methane emissions from dairies.”

In December 2020, the company plans to begin construction of a gas upgrading system that will convert dairy biogas to renewable natural gas for injection into the PG&E pipeline or utilization as renewable CNG at the company’s onsite renewable compressed natural gas (R-CNG) fueling station.  During 2021, the company plans to continue development of the next fifteen dairy digesters and related pipeline in the 17 dairy digester RNG cluster located near the Aemetis Keyes plant. The project funding plan has no debt and more than $65 million of preferred equity investment and grants.