3 Rivers Energy Partners is launching a new sustainability project with Jack Daniel’s. The project is expected to produce between 900,000 and 1,100,000 MMBtu of renewable natural gas (RNG) annually while simultaneously lowering the overall energy usage of the Jack Daniel’s Distillery. 3 Rivers Energy Partners has partnered with TC Energy to use the Jack Daniel’s Distillery’s spent distillers grains to create an immense amount of RNG and natural commercial fertilizer by feeding the spent distillers grains from the distillery into anaerobic digesters. This process allows Jack Daniel’s to use its corn to the fullest potential, completing the nutrient life cycle of the corn used to make whiskey by producing a nutrient-rich natural commercial fertilizer that can be used to replenish the surrounding farmland.
According to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA), the expected volume of RNG is enough to heat more than 10,000 homes in Tennessee. The fertilizer created from this project could potentially support up to 43,000 acres (17,401 ha) of farmland, primarily in Moore, Coffee, and Franklin counties. 3 Rivers expects this to benefit more than 400 Tennessee small family farms and for those benefits to ripple throughout the rural economy. The company’s discounted natural fertilizer avoids about US$220 per acre of commercial fertilizer cost at today’s prices, resulting in nearly US$7 million annually of direct regional economic benefit created from fertilizer cost savings for local crop farmers. “Our goal is to help Jack Daniel’s create a sustainable future for their company, community, and the planet. With this process, we can reduce operational energy consumption, create renewable energy, help sustain local agriculture, and benefit the families of rural Tennessee. It is truly a full circle sustainability approach,” said John Rivers, CEO of 3 Rivers Energy Partners.
