California Bioenergy completes acquisition of South Dakota RNG

USA – California Bioenergy LLC (CalBio) has completed the acquisition of Sevana Bioenergy’s interest in South Dakota Biogas LLC, strengthening its participation in a joint venture developing dairy renewable natural gas (RNG) projects in South Dakota.

South Dakota Biogas LLC and UGI Energy Services (UGIES) hold ownership interests in MBL Bioenergy, a joint venture formed to develop and operate eight dairy RNG projects in the state, with scope for additional projects.

As part of the transaction, CalBio has also acquired sole ownership of SD OpCo LLC, the entity responsible for operating the digester projects.

The acquisition expands CalBio’s project portfolio and its partnership with dairy farmers to capture methane from dairy waste.

The South Dakota projects are organised into three clusters.

The Moody Cluster comprises three dairies near Dell Rapids. Conditioned biogas from the dairies is transported through gathering pipelines to a centralised upgrader before being connected to the Northern Natural Gas system.

The Brookings Cluster includes three dairies near Estelline. The dairies send conditioned biogas through gathering pipelines to a centralised upgrader and then to a NorthWestern Energy interconnect.

The Lakeside Cluster consists of two dairies near Summit. Conditioned and upgraded biogas is transported through high-compression tube trailers, described as a “virtual pipeline,” to a NorthWestern Energy interconnect.

At the individual dairy sites, waste is collected and processed in continuously stirred tank reactor (CSTR) digesters.

Microorganisms break down the dairy waste to produce methane-rich biogas, which is subsequently conditioned and upgraded into RNG.

Together, the three clusters currently produce around 2 million standard cubic feet of renewable compressed natural gas (R-CNG) per day.

This is equivalent to approximately 15,000 gasoline gallon equivalents (GGEs) of vehicle-ready fuel per day, or around 5.5 million GGEs annually.

“CalBio is pleased to announce the growth of our participation in the South Dakota dairy digester projects,” said N. Ross Buckenham, chairman and CEO of CalBio.

He said the company would continue working with UGIES and local dairy farmers while expanding its role in the projects.

The acquisition expands CalBio’s operational presence into the Upper Midwest and strengthens its existing partnership with UGIES and the South Dakota dairy community.

The company said it will continue to explore opportunities to expand its regional RNG portfolio while supporting methane capture and the long-term sustainability of participating dairy farms.

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