Projects
Pixley Biogas, LLC
Pixley Biogas will build an anaerobic digestion facility adjacent to the existing Calgren Renewable Fuels Biorefinery in Pixley, California. The biogas facility will process over 36 million gallons of manure from three nearby dairies and supply the resulting biogas to the Calgren facility. Calgren, a 55 million gallon-per-year ethanol production facility, will use the biogas in their boiler.
The biogas facility is expected to produce 266 mmBTU of biogas daily. Access to a local supply of biogas, combined with improved operational efficiencies, will reduce Calgren’s natural gas consumption by 402 mmBTU per day, the equivalent of 13.1 percent. This biogas effort will lower the carbon intensity of the ethanol produced at the biorefinery.
Grant Amount
The Energy Commission is providing $4,672,798.
Match Funding
The project team will provide $4,910,925.
Project Participants
Pixley Biogas, LLC is an affiliate of Calgren Renewable Fuels.
Project Benefits
The carbon dioxide reductions of the reduced natural gas consumption, combined with the avoided manure emissions, are estimated to be over 31,000 metric tons per year, the rough equivalent of removing 6,300 cars from the road. The biogas produced from the Pixley project will result in as estimated net greenhouse gas reduction of 5.74 percent.
Pixley Biogas will reclaim and process approximately 185 million gallons of the water used to flush the stalls through separation equipment to remove at least 50 percent of the manure solids, resulting in a liquid that is suitable for on-farm recycling. Compounds, such as hydrogen sulfide and volatile organic compounds will be reduced, helping improve air quality. This project will serve as a model for adopting advanced manure handling systems to other dairy farmers.
This project will create an estimated 23 jobs during construction and an additional two full time permanent jobs once the facility becomes operational. The project will also help retain nearly 18 jobs at its partner business, Calgren Renewables.
Grant Agreement Number: ARV-10-053