March 16 2021 11:36 AM

Minnesota’s First Biogas-to-Transportation Fuel Project Will Convert 700,000 Gallons per Day of Dairy Waste into 100% Renewable Transportation Fuel

The information below has been supplied by dairy marketers and other industry organizations. It has not been edited, verified or endorsed by Hoard’s Dairyman.

Amp Americas, a pioneer in the renewable transportation fuel industry, today announced that its fourth biogas facility producing renewable natural gas (RNG) from dairy waste is now operational and has begun delivering RNG into the Alliance natural gas pipeline to be used as transportation fuel. Located in Morris, Minnesota near the state’s western border, the new plant is Amp Americas’ largest dairy RNG project to date and the state’s first on-farm biogas-to-vehicle fuel facility. With this project, Amp Americas has now developed dairy RNG production on 12 dairies with over 66,000 cows.


Working with Riverview LLP, a dairy operation based in Minnesota, the project captures over 700,000 gallons of manure per day from three different sites, converts it into renewable methane, purifies it into RNG, and compresses it to inject into the pipeline. Along with two RNG projects in Indiana and another in Arizona, Amp Americas is now operating four of the largest dairy biogas-to-transportation fuel projects in the country, producing a total of over 10 million gallons of RNG annually. Amp Americas markets its dairy RNG to fleets in California along with gas from a number of other dairy, landfill, and wastewater projects developed by others through its Amp Americas Marketing arm.


“We’re thrilled to partner with Riverview and to launch our largest project to date,” said Grant Zimmerman, CEO of Amp Americas. “We installed pipelines connecting three of Riverview’s dairies, restarted mothballed digesters, and built our RNG plant and the pipeline injection station. This project will produce millions of gallons of 100% renewable transportation fuel and will prevent 100,000 tons of greenhouse emissions each year, the equivalent of taking over 20,000 cars off the road annually.”


Brad Fehr, partner of Riverview LLP explained, “We were skeptical of digester projects and developers before we decided to work with Amp Americas. They built an important project for our community, and we look forward to our long-term partnership.”


During construction, the project employed 140 people, and now in operations, Amp Americas has added six permanent full-time jobs in Morris, Minnesota bringing the company’s team to a total of 60 across six states. Amp Americas will operate the Riverview RNG facilities under its Amp Americas Services business, a unit of Amp Americas that leverages its 9 years of unique experience, expertise, and leadership in biogas operations. Amp Services also operates other dairy RNG projects such as the company’s Indiana projects now owned by Generate Capital, and another dairy RNG project located in Arizona.


Amp Americas recently expanded its ongoing relationship with EIV Capital, LLC, to provide the required equity investment needed for continued buildout of the business. David Finan, partner of EIV Capital, LLC stated, “Amp’s growing platform provides true value to the communities in which it operates and also to its employees and investors. We are grateful to work with a team that can leverage its decade-plus experience of continuous operations in the dairy RNG space to build a leading business in the development and management of these assets.”


About Amp Americas

Founded in 2011, Amp Americas is a pioneer in the renewable transportation fuel industry. The company has eliminated over 600,000 tons of CO2 equivalent emissions, equivalent to taking over 120,000 cars off the road for one year. Amp Americas develops on-farm RNG projects, operates dairy RNG and other RNG projects developed by the company and other developers, sources and markets RNG to supply fuel to some of the country’s largest fleet customers, and partners with dairy farmers across the U.S. to bring more ultra-low CI gas to market. The company currently operates projects in multiple states. Amp Americas received the first dairy waste-to-vehicle fuel pathway certified by California's Air Resources Board (CARB). Amp Americas registered 5 of the 18 existing California dairy RNG pathways and until 2020 was responsible for all registered dairy RNG to CNG provisional pathways. Visit ampamericas.com.