Photo Contributed by Calgren

A new fueling station in Pixley closes the loop on a circular energy system where dairy waste powers both consumer vehicles and the agricultural trucks that serve local farms.

Calgren, a Pixley-based ethanol and renewable natural gas (RNG) production company, announced the completion of its first direct-to-consumer renewable compressed natural gas (R-CNG) fueling station. The facility allows drivers of CNG-compatible vehicles — including passenger cars, buses, and commercial fleets — to fuel with locally produced R-CNG from dairy methane. 

Calgren has been producing renewable fuels in California’s Central Valley since 2008, when its ethanol facility in Pixley began operations. The company began expanding into dairy biogas in 2017, when it started permitting some 20 miles of pipeline to connect Pixley-area dairies to its Highway 99 production plant, according to previous Business Journal reporting.

At the time, company President Lyle Schlyer said the project would increase biogas volumes by as much as 20 times, replacing fossil fuel natural gas at the plant with methane captured from covered lagoons at nearby dairies. In July 2019, Calgren completed what was expected to become the largest dairy biogas operation in the U.S., becoming the first facility in California to operate a dairy digester pipeline cluster.

The facility now captures methane from more than 66,000 cows at area dairy farms, addressing California regulations that require the livestock industry to cut methane emissions to 40 percent of 2013 levels by 2030.

The project marks a significant milestone for Calgren, enabling the company to deliver its carbon-negative fuel directly to the local community for the first time.

“This station is about connecting the full circle of our work, producing quality feed for dairy cows, capturing methane that is traditionally released to atmosphere from dairies, processing it into renewable fuel, and putting it straight into vehicles on our roads, including our own partner trucks that haul our products and co-products,” said Travis Lane, CEO of Calgren. “The cow is fueling the truck that hauls the feed that fuels the cow, right here in Tulare County. This system helps to manage the dairy cows & environmental footprint, so they can continue to help feed and support our communities.”