For many who attended the groundbreaking for the new dairy digester at Vermont’s Goodrich Farm, the sense of true celebration was palpable. That’s because just the act of pulling this dairy manure and food scrap to biogas and RNG project together reached a number of milestones for the biogas and dairy industry in Vermont. ABC members Vanguard Renewables and Vermont Gas were at the lead, and would probably be first to remind us that they did not do this alone. Here are the list of milestones we’ve collected:
- Middlebury College made a 20-year commitment to become zero carbon by using renewable natural gas from biogas to replace fossil fuels. They are the first college in the US to do this.
- Vermont Gas made a 200-year commitment to market RNG to VT customers using local biogas, becoming the first gas utility in the US to do so.
- Goodrich Farm, a fourth generation dairy, will now meet aggressive environmental and sustainability goals while still dairy farming during challenging economic times for the dairy industry.
- This project is the first to use a phosphorus reduction process to meet Vermont’s goals to clean up Lake Champlain.
- The commitment of all involved to produce renewable energy and cleaner air motivated private capital to finance 100% of the project.
- Largest dairy digester east of the Mississippi according to the Vermont Agriculture Agency.