In the United States (US), AgLand Renewables LLC (AgLand), the California (CA) subsidiary of Maryland-based CleanBay Renewables Inc., has announced that it has been selected by the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz) to receive US$1.7 million in tax credit from the highly competitive California Competes Tax Credit (CCTC) program. With this support, AgLand can begin the development of multiple bioconversion facilities in the state's Central Valley.
AgLand Renewables is an enviro-tech company focused on the sustainable management of waste through anaerobic digestion (AD) and nutrient recovery technologies. Its parent company, CleanBay Renewables is developing its first bioconversion facility in Maryland (MD) and is actively developing sites for future facilities on the Delmarva Peninsula, in the Southeastern United States and California, via AgLand.
With this support from the Governor’s office, AgLand can begin the development of multiple bioconversion facilities in California that will directly support the state’s economic and environmental goals.
Attracting a company like AgLand Renewables to California is exactly why the CalCompetes program was created. Not only will AgLand Renewables create well-paying jobs and economic opportunity across the Central Valley, but its solution will help us reach California’s greenhouse gas reduction goals while simultaneously supporting the Governor’s healthy soils initiative, said Dee Dee Myers, Senior Advisor to the Governor and Director of GO-Biz.
Two poultry litter to RNG facilities planned
AgLand will deploy at least two facilities in the Central Valley, home of California’s vast poultry production industry, over the next five years. The facilities will use AD and fertilizer formation technology to sustainably convert poultry litter into renewable natural gas (RNG) and organic, controlled-release fertilizers.
These state-of-the-art facilities will help grow California’s leadership in climate-smart agriculture, scale up healthy soils, recycle important nutrients in agriculture, and invest hundreds of millions within hard-hit agricultural communities, said Karen Ross, Secretary of the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA).
By converting more than 150 000 tonnes of chicken litter annually, each facility can generate more than 750 000 MMBtus of renewable natural gas, 100 000 tonnes of organic, controlled-release fertilizer, and an estimated 500 000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2eq) emission abatement that will be available for purchase in carbon markets.
More than half a million tons of poultry litter is produced in the Central Valley each year, which if uncontrolled, can release significant greenhouse gases and other emissions that negatively affect the local air, soil, and water quality. Our sustainable alternative use for poultry litter provides an immediate opportunity to enhance the economic value of the Central Valley’s agricultural industry while simultaneously helping the state meet its low carbon fuel standards and emissions reduction goals, said Thomas Spangler, Executive Chairman for CleanBay Renewables.
The proposed site locations in Kings and Merced Counties were identified with support from the GO-Biz Business Investment Services team. Both facilities are projected to be fully operational by 2024. AgLand is exploring other measures to further reduce its carbon footprint, including co-located solar power fields and microgrid technologies as well as the production of alternative fuels such as green hydrogen.
The projects will provide a long-term, sustainable source of renewable transportation fuels and organic fertilizers that will provide a substantial reduction in climate pollutants and improve soil health in California. Further, our direct investment of over US$1 billion will provide much-needed economic benefits to the Central Valley, creating dozens of new well-paying full-time jobs and hundreds of indirect jobs through construction and supply-chain needs, said Donal Buckley, CEO of CleanBay Renewables.
