AgLand Renewables LLC, the California subsidiary of Maryland-based CleanBay Renewables Inc., says it has been selected by the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz) to receive $1.7 million in tax credit from the California Competes Tax Credit (CCTC) program. With this support from the Governor’s office, AgLand says it can begin 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,” Dee Dee Myers, senior advisor to the Governor and director of GO-Biz, said in a June 21 statement. “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.”
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 anerobic digestion 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.
“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,” said Thomas Spangler, CleanBay Renewables Inc.’s executive chairman. “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.”
By converting more than 150,000 tons of chicken litter annually, each facility can generate more than 750,000 MMBtus of renewable natural gas, 100,000 tons of organic, controlled-release fertilizer, and an estimated 500,000 tons of CO2 equivalent emission abatement that will be available for purchase in carbon markets.
“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,” said Donal Buckley, CleanBay Renewables Inc.’s CEO. “Further, our direct investment of over $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.”
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.
