Summit Natural Gas dairy biogas project receives $4.9m

Summit Natural Gas, based in Yarmouth, Maine, will receive a portion of $64.7 million in funding from the US Department of Energy (DOE) to develop a dairy biogas project.

Summit’s digester project is among 22 projects chosen by the DOE focused on producing cost-effective, low-carbon biofuels. US Senator Susan Collins, of Maine, and Representatives Chellie Pingree and Jared Golden welcomed the allocation of $4,977,437 (€4,209,300) to Summit, to deploy a biomethanation process at a dairy digester in the town of Clinton.

The process will source organic waste from six dairy farms in Clinton and other areas in Maine to create biogas, which can be used for heating, cooking, and other processes. According to Senator Collins and Representatives Pingree and Golden, this is another critical way that Maine farms are stepping up to be part of the climate solution – by working with Summit to capture and reuse the emissions from their organic waste.

“Methane makes up about 10% of greenhouse gas emissions, but it is 84 times more potent than CO2 and highly destructive to the climate,” said Senator Collins.

“This investment will support Maine dairy farmers while helping to protect public health and the environment at the same time.

“I have long been a supporter of efforts to reduce pollution and I will continue to advance policies in the Senate to tackle climate change.”

Kurt Adams, president and CEO of Summit Utilities, commented: “This grant presents an incredible opportunity for Maine to be a leader in the development of a new renewable energy resource.

“With this grant from the DOE, we will develop the first field-deployed power-to-gas system in the US by combining green hydrogen and captured carbon. This will create a carbon-negative energy source that can be used to keep homes warm and industries running while reducing emissions.

“We are grateful for the support from the DOE, our congressional delegation, and our many partners on this project including SoCalGas, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Plug Power, and Electrochaea.”