NEWTON, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – A new facility in Manitowoc County is reducing greenhouse gas emissions while helping local dairy farmers.
DTE Biomass Energy says its new site in Newton will help in the process of converting cow manure into renewable natural gas
The facility is the first of its kind in Wisconsin.
The Newton site will process raw biogas piped from nearby farms into RNG and also receive RNG trucked in from other dairy farm-based DTE facilities.
From here, pipeline-quality RNG is injected directly into the interstate pipeline.
Kevin Dobson, vice president of business development DTE Biomass Energy tells FOX 11…..
“This injection and RNG processing facility is an important milestone for us. DTE’s dairy RNG production has grown tremendously over the last several months, and now we have a central location and efficient means for continuing the operation and growth of these and other dairy projects.”
Earlier this year, DTE began dairy RNG processing operations at Dairy Dreams, LLC in Casco.
DTE has also partnered with other local farms such as Kewaunee County’s Pagel’s Ponderosa Dairy, LLC and Manitowoc County’s Maple Leaf Dairy, Inc., and Grotegut Dairy Farm, Inc.
“Nearly 20,000 cows throughout Wisconsin are contributing to these projects,” Dobson said. “Their waste was once a farmer’s burden, but now it’s a sustainable and clean source of energy.”
Manure left to decompose naturally on farmland releases methane gas directly into the atmosphere.
Capturing the methane gas and converting it into usable energy reduces farms’ overall greenhouse gas footprint by creating a clean, sustainable vehicle fuel, displacing fossil-based gasoline or diesel fuel.
