Avolta, Atlas break ground on two Arizona RNG projects

Avolta, a renewable energy firm focused on RNG projects, and its regional development partner, Atlas Global Holdings, have broken ground on two projects in Arizona.

The two projects at the Butterfield and Milky Way dairies outside Phoenix will use anaerobic digestion (AD) to convert manure into biogas, which is then upgraded to RNG.

“Avolta is pleased to expand into Arizona with the new RNG upgrading facility at Butterfield Dairy,” said Gov Siegel, co-founder of Avolta.

“The Butterfield RNG facility will positively impact the environment while simultaneously providing benefits to the de Jong family farming operation.

“This will be the first in a series of projects in Arizona that uphold our commitment to supporting the dairy industry and providing economic opportunities to local communities all while reducing the impact on the environment.”

Tommy de Jong senior commented: “Since our family began farming in 1620, we have continuously improved our operations and processes to remain competitive and be a good steward of the land.

“Most recently we designed Butterfield Dairy to be carbon-neutral through managing our water to support crops and capture CO₂. This RNG project with Atlas and Avolta is a next phase in this tradition of continuous improvement with many benefits for our farming operation and the environment.”

For farmers, the combined AD and RNG upgrading facilities provide optimised waste management solutions to the dairy operations, help create long-term financial stability through gas sales, and provide an organic cow bedding supply. Each RNG facility built and put in operation creates local jobs, provides multiple benefits to the farming operation and provides a renewable, sustainable energy source.

Collectively, Butterfield and Milky Way dairies care for more than 50,000 cows and the projects will generate over 675,000 MMBtu of RNG annually, which will be distributed as a renewable transportation fuel.

The Butterfield and Milky Way projects are scheduled to begin delivering gas into a Southwest Gas pipeline at the end of this year and the first quarter of 2022, respectively. Both plants will be operated and maintained by Nacelle Solutions, a gas technology and service company with design and operational expertise in the oil, gas, and biogas industries.