Chesapeake Utilities Corporation has completed its $22 million renewable natural gas (RNG) facility at Full Circle Dairy (FCD) in Lee, Florida.
The facility, a full-scale dairy manure-to-pipeline-quality RNG operation, is expected to produce an average of 100,000 dekatherms annually. It started producing RNG in June 2024 and is expected to capture and redirect more than 1,100 metric tons of methane per year into a renewable energy source, equivalent to powering 3,500 homes for a year.
FPU Renewables, a subsidiary of Florida Public Utilities (FPU), built and operates the RNG facility in Madison County, which has produced and injected over 18,000 dekatherms of RNG since June.
The RNG is transported by Marlin Gas Services, subsidiary of Chesapeake Utilities, through a virtual pipeline to an injection point in Yulee, Florida, and distributed to customers in Nassau County, Florida.
"The RNG facility at FCD is a great example of our ability to leverage our expertise across the entire energy delivery value chain -- from production to virtual pipeline transportation, injection, transmission and distribution – while supporting our strategic focus on prudent capital deployment," said Jeff Householder, Chesapeake Utilities board chair, president and CEO, said in a statement. "We share FCD's commitment to innovative approaches that result in a more sustainable future for customers and our local communities.”
RNG carries the same energy density qualities of methane natural gas, but at a lower carbon profile. It can also help mitigate the environmental dangers of methane, which is released into air in landfills and decomposition of organic materials.
Environmental scientists report that methane emissions are multiple times more damaging as a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide.
Large-scale energy customers such as AstraZeneca and Microsoft are pursuing RNG supply deals to fuel operations at manufacturing and information centers.
