Methane from dairy cow manure will become sustainable renewable natural gas at a new DTE Vantage biomass facility that begins operations this month in Birnamwood, Wisconsin. The new DTE Vantage project with Matsche Farms, which manages approximately 10,000 cows and spans more than 5,000 acres of land, will produce enough biomethane to fuel approximately 1,600 vehicles per year.
“This project is our eighth in Wisconsin, making us one of the largest renewable natural gas producers in the Midwest,” said Kevin Dobson, vice president of biomass, DTE Vantage. “We’re excited to be a part of this great community and offer many local environmental and economic benefits. We are assisting Matsche Farms in reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by capturing the methane from manure – that would otherwise go directly into the atmosphere – and repurposing it as pipeline-quality renewable natural gas.”
The methane from the farm’s manure waste will be used to produce biomethane, which is then transported to DTE Vantage’s nearby Newton Interconnect site and injected into a natural gas pipeline. DTE Vantage is working with U.S. Gain, a Wisconsin-based company that will bring the renewable fuel to the transportation market in California where it will help reduce the greenhouse gas emissions of its customers’ fleets.
“We’re proud to work with DTE Vantage on this project, supplying cleaner transportation fuel for our customers’ vehicles,” said Bryan Nudelbacher, vice president of business development at U.S. Gain. “We’re so pleased this project involves a Wisconsin-based dairy farm, and we can extend the availability of cleaner, renewable natural gas.”
Source: DTE Vantage
