New manure-to-ethanol plant begins operations in California

Calgren Renewable Fuels has opened a new manure-to-ethanol plant in California's San Joaquin Valley, located in one of the top dairy producing counties in the US and also one of the country's most air-polluted areas.

The Calgren Ethanol Biodigester sits around 60 miles south of Fresno and will help reduce emissions and dependence on fossil fuels in the area while contributing to efforts in California to meet clean energy goals.

Designed by Wisconsin company DVO, the anaerobic digester at the plant's core was built by Regenis, a Washington state-based contractor. Calgren will operate the plant, which will produce up to 58 million gallons of ethanol a year.

The plant processes manure from the local dairy, Four J Farms, to turn methane into the lowest carbon-emitting ethanol currently produced at an industrial scale in California.

Following its original conceptualisation in 2009, the plant was developed by the aforementioned companies, funded in part with a $4.6 million (€4.05 million) grant from the California Energy Commission.