Chevron-Backed Brightmark Opens Eloy RNG Center

Brightmark RNG Holdings LLC (Brightmark) announced the opening of its Eloy RNG center, which will produce renewable natural gas (RNG) from dairy manure using anaerobic digestion technology. The development marks the beginning of a new phase of the organization’s Eloy Circularity Center, which will begin the operation of its lagoon anaerobic digesters at Caballero Dairy in the desert city of Eloy, Arizona. 

Brightmark is a joint venture between Chevron USA, a subsidiary of Chevron Corporation, and Brightmark Fund Holdings LLC, a subsidiary of Brightmark LLC. The Chevron-Brightmark RNG joint venture operates a nationwide system of RNG projects, capturing methane from dairy operations for beneficial use as pipeline fuel.

“We are pleased with the adoption of anaerobic digestion by dairy farmers in the southwest, a region overlooked in the past,” said Bob Powell, founder and chief executive officer of Brightmark LLC. “The Eloy circularity center’s beauty resides in its use of technology based on ambient temperature with the Arizona heat. It presents an excellent opportunity for RNG to be generated in higher amounts, promoting lower-carbon intensity solutions. We are grateful to Chevron and Caballero Dairy for partnering with us on this exciting endeavor.”

The Eloy RNG project is set to bring environmental and economic benefits to the southwest region. By harnessing solar heating for farm lagoons, it aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The manure expected to be processed by the circularity center will be equivalent to the effect of planting more than 37,000 acres (14,973 ha) of forest annually. This approach promises to not only create jobs but also recycle resources back into agricultural and energy systems, enhancing soil stabilization and nutrient control while mitigating odors at Caballero Dairy.

The Eloy RNG project is the joint venture’s first initiative in the southwest, but it has also delivered RNG from its Larson Project in Florida and expanded its RNG projects in Michigan. According to Brightmark, the company operates a nationwide system of RNG projects that have reduced more than 900,000 tons (816,466 tonnes) of carbon-dioxide equivalent through anaerobic digestion.