Utility UGI Corp. to expand renewable gas operations in South Dakota

Jan. 4 (UPI) -- Natural gas and electric power distribution company UGI Corp. said Wednesday it was working to expand its footprint in the technology needed to use dairy manure as a feedstock to produce natural gas in South Dakota.

Characterized as a renewable form of energy, companies are looking to utilize the decomposition of organic matter such as the manure from the cattle industry to yield a substitute for conventional natural gas.

Decomposition of organic matter results in the release of natural gas in the form of methane, which can be purified to remove harmful compounds and increase its potency. That product can then be put through conventional pipelines for delivery to end users.

UGI said it was committed to a $150 million spend alongside MBL Bioenergy, a consortium established for the sole purpose of developing so-called renewable natural gas projects in South Dakota.

The decomposition of cow manure yields some methane, which can be refined and purified to a source of natural gas the industry considers renewable. File photo by Bill Greenblat/UPI

Developments over five South Dakota farms could generate around 525 million cubic feet of renewable natural gas per year once projects are completed in 2024. To put that in perspective, the Bakken shale basin in the Northern Plains, one of the lowest-producing shale gas basins, is on pace to yield around 3 million cubic feet of natural gas per day in January.

"We are pleased to be partnering with industry-leading developers on this project that will substantially reduce greenhouse gas emissions, using dairy RNG as a vehicle fuel," Robert Beard, the chief operations officer at UGI, said.

Amazon, Federal Express and United Parcel Service are among the growing list of companies turning to renewable natural gas to power their fleets. Engineers at Cornell University in upstate New York, meanwhile, are working to develop a system to extract energy from cow manure to meet increased heating demands.

UGI has similar RNG plans for upstate New York. It teamed up with a joint venture partner, Cayuga RNG, last year to announce plans for a fifth biogas facility in the state. British energy major BP, for its part, recently closed on a $4 billion deal to buy RNG developer Archaea Energy, which operates 50 renewable natural gas and landfill gas-to-energy facilities across the United States.