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Anaerobic Digestion
Construction to begin at CleanBay Renewables’ Maryland AD facility
August 18, 2020 by Manure Manager
CleanBay Renewables Inc. (CleanBay), an enviro-tech company focused on the production of greenhouse gas credits, organic fertilizer and renewable energy, recently announced its partnership with Kiewit Corporation, one of North America’s largest construction and engineering companies, in a new anaerobic digestion project.
Through the partnership, Kiewit will design, engineer and build CleanBay’s Westover bio-refinery, which will recycle more than 150,000 tons of chicken litter annually through anaerobic digestion and convert it into renewable natural gas, renewable electricity and a nutrient-rich fertilizer product. This will be the first utility-scale anaerobic digestion plant focused on agricultural feedstock in Maryland.
“Our process goes beyond recycling waste and reducing pollution,” said Donal Buckley, CleanBay’s CEO. “By also creating a controlled-release fertilizer containing humic acid, we’re improving soil health and helping farmers increase production to meet the ever-increasing demand for food.”
Site preparation is now underway, and construction is scheduled to begin later this year at the Westover facility, which will include more than $200 million of capital investment by CleanBay.
In early July, CleanBay secured Chesapeake Utilities Corp. as the distributor for the RNG generated at the Maryland facility when it is completed. Under the agreement, Chesapeake Utilities will transport the RNG produced at the bio-refinery in Westover to its natural gas infrastructure in the Delmarva region.
The RNG will reach the market through the joint effort of Chesapeake Utilities and its subsidiaries, Eastern Shore Natural Gas Company (ESNG) and Marlin Gas Services. Using a virtual pipeline concept, Marlin Gas will transport RNG from the CleanBay facility to Eastern Shore Natural Gas, Chesapeake Utilities’ interstate infrastructure pipeline, where it will be distributed to end-use customers.
“This is a win-win for the region as farmers on the Delmarva Peninsula also need an economical way to dispose of agricultural waste, prevent runoff into local waters, and enrich the soil to increase future agricultural production,” said Jeff Householder, Chesapeake Utilities’ president and CEO.
