The company already operates six anaerobic digesters, which produce gas to run generators that provide electricity to the farms. Now, the new project will take the technology further, upgrading one of those digesters to turn the biogas into nearly pure methane and compressing it to fuel new natural gas-powered trucks.
The dairy’s fleet, which will be capable of hauling more than 300,000 gallons of milk each day to processing centres in Indiana, Kentucky and Tennessee, will replace diesel-powered models, and is projected to use more than 1.5 million diesel gallon equivalents of CNG per year.
To help extend the trucks’ range between fill-ups, they will be outfitted with extra natural gas tanks purchased with a USD 2 million U.S. Department of Energy grant. A separate USD 750,000 state grant will support construction of two filling stations along I-65 (one at Fair Oaks and one in Sellersburg). The Fair Oaks centre will supply renewable gas derived from manure, while the Sellersburg point will deliver regular natural gas.
