FPU Renewables LLC, a subsidiary of Chesapeake Utilities Corp., will construct, own and operate a dairy manure renewable natural gas (RNG) facility, a press release announced on Feb. 21.

Located in Madison County, Fla., the project will capture and clean methane from cow manure produced at the Full Circle Dairy facility and create approximately 100,000 dekatherms (1,116 mt) of RNG annually. Chesapeake calculates that the amount of greenhouse gas emissions saved is equivalent of taking 6,012 gasoline-powered passenger vehicles off the road for a year.

"We continue to look for ways to displace more carbon-intensive fuels, and we're working hard to develop waste-to-energy production facilities, and associated infrastructure, that improve agricultural conditions in Florida and other service areas," president and CEO Jeff Householder commented in the release. "Collaborations such as the one with Full Circle Dairy are continuing to move both the energy and agricultural industries toward a more sustainable future."

First RNG injection is expected to occur in 2024. Chesapeake will invest $22 million in capital while also looking for additional opportunities to invest in bringing the produced RNG to market, as well as other offtake opportunities.

Full Circle Dairy has been in operation since 2006 and currently recycles manure produced as fertilizer to be used in the fields that grow feed for its herds.

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