Kennett Square, PA–January 14, 2022–Ag-Grid Energy has broken ground on their second biogas to electricity project in Connecticut. Hytone Ag-Grid, in partnership with Hytone Farms, is Ag-Grid’s 4th dairy digester in the northeast US and expected to be operational in the Fall. Hytone Ag-Grid will produce around 4.5 million kWh of renewable electricity per year derived from dairy manure and food waste.
The renewable electricity produced from the Hytone Ag-Grid project will be consumed by the City of New Britain where Mayor Erin Stewart and Manager of Facilities & Energy Jon Delgadillo have supported both of Ag-Grid’s Connecticut projects with virtual net metering contracts.
Ag-Grid has committed to supporting Connecticut’s renewable energy and food waste diversion goals as the State makes pivotal decisions to shut down its older incinerators. In July 2022, a 30-year old garbage incinerator in Hartford, Connecticut will close owned by the CT Materials Innovation and Recycling Authority (MIRA). As a result, an estimated 700,000 tons of waste will be transferred to landfills out of state, including some of Connecticut’s half a million tons of food waste generated annually. Some of the food waste goes into traditional waste streams, like Hartford’s MIRA facility, where it gets incinerated. As an alternative to disposal, Ag-Grid Energy has positioned its projects to recycle liquid food waste and has expansion plans to add depackaging capabilities to their Connecticut facilities in Coventry and Thompson to increase the state’s capacity to recycle food waste, especially as the MIRA incineration facility shuts down later this year.
In addition to supporting sustainability through food waste recycling, Ag-Grid Energy’s projects also support farm sustainability practices and create financial stability for small to mid-size dairy farms.
“Ag-Grid Energy’s strategic partnerships with food waste generators, Live Oak Bank, regulatory bodies USDA and CT DEEP, and Martin Construction Resource have been the key developing Hytone Ag-Grid, our 4th biogas to electricity project. We continue to expand to dairies across US and move towards adding biogas to RNG projects to our portfolio,” said Rashi Akki, CEO of Ag-Grid Energy.