In the United States (US), Chesapeake Utilities Corporation (CPK) has announced that it purchased 100 percent of the membership interest of Planet Found Energy Development, LLC (PFED), a Maryland-based entity formed by Delmarva-based scientists, farmers, and business people dedicated to developing poultry litter management technologies.
According to a statement, the US$9.4 million acquisition aligns with the company’s renewable energy investment objectives.
Environmental considerations are important factors when we assess future opportunities for Chesapeake Utilities, and the acquisition of Planet Found, located in our Delmarva service territory, is a major step in advancing our efforts, said Jeff Householder, President, and CEO of Chesapeake Utilities.
These investment objectives include:
- Internal technology expertise, especially related to organic soil conditioners and future fertilizer production, and an important economic component in poultry waste biogas production;
- Operation of a small poultry biogas facility in Maryland that Chesapeake Utilities will use as a test facility to help verify waste stream and fertilizer chemistry on future projects, useful in both financial projections and potential regulatory treatment;
- Development of a second biogas site in Maryland that the Company can expand and complete;
- PFED technology and process are scalable for growth going forward.
Located in Somerset County, Maryland (MD), PFED’s farm-scale anaerobic digestion (AD) pilot system and technology produce biogas from 1 200 tons of poultry litter annually.
This can be used to generate renewable energy in the form of electricity or be upgraded to renewable natural gas (RNG).
The development of waste-to-energy has become a significant interest to energy delivery companies and their investors as a component of a lower carbon energy strategy. Chesapeake Utilities is geographically located in areas with significant agricultural facilities and waste sources, and the Company has the industry knowledge, energy delivery asset base, and capital deployment appetite to play a leading role in the generation and delivery of biogas in its service territories, Jeff Householder said.
Following our first RNG transportation project completed in Ohio last year, we have now expanded our portfolio of renewable energy delivery solutions. Planet Found enhances our expertise, technologies, and know-how that can be leveraged for various scale biogas and RNG development projects on Delmarva and beyond, said Jeff Householder.
In addition to generating biogas, PFED’s nutrient capture system plays a major role in converting digestate into a nutrient-rich soil conditioner, which is distributed to bulk and retail markets under the brand Element Soil.
Anaerobic digestion is one of the most efficient and sustainable solutions for managing waste and producing renewable energy that reduces our carbon footprint. This acquisition reinforces our commitment to moving the energy and agricultural industries toward a more sustainable future. Our investment in Planet Found and its innovative technologies provides us with significant testing capabilities and will allow us to partner with poultry communities throughout our service territories as we work toward expanding our portfolio of sustainable solutions in the areas we serve, said Kevin Webber, SVP and Chief Development Officer at Chesapeake Utilities.
