Vanguard Renewables, a portfolio company of Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), a part of BlackRock, held a groundbreaking ceremony for its newest renewable natural gas project at The Moyer Family’s Oakmulgee Dairy Farm in Amelia Court House, Virginia. The farm, owned by Larkin Moyer, a fourth-generation dairyman, along with his sons Brandon and Jeremy and is the oldest continuously operating family dairy in the Commonwealth.
Vanguard Renewables is a leading builder, owner and operator of organics-to-renewable natural gas facilities in the U.S.. The company is expanding across the U.S. and currently has seven operational facilities, three under construction, and plans to begin construction on multiple additional sites by the end of the year. The Farm Powered anaerobic digester at Oakmulgee Dairy Farm, will produce more than 259K MMBtu/year of renewable gas and divert over 105K tons of food and beverage waste from landfill or incineration yearly.
The project will be constructed and operated by Vanguard Renewables and is part of a recently announced joint venture between Vanguard Renewables and TotalEnergies, a global integrated energy company, to develop, build and operate Farm Powered renewable natural gas projects across the United States.
The centerpiece of this trailblazing initiative at Oakmulgee Dairy Farm is this state-of-the-art anaerobic digester system that will recycle organic materials into renewable gas that is upgraded on-site and injected into the nation’s existing pipeline infrastructure. The renewable natural gas produced at this site in Virginia will go on to fuel AstraZeneca’s Maryland biopharmaceutical production facilities.
In addition to purchasing the renewable gas produced at Vanguard Renewables’ Farm Powered sites to decarbonize its thermal load, AstraZeneca announced in November of 2023 an expanded partnership between the two companies that would leverage its global industrial-scale manufacturing and digital capabilities to boost U.S. renewable gas productivity at Vanguard’s sites.
Vanguard Renewables’ decade-long history of working with American dairy farmers is core to the company’s success and its commitment to support multi-generational dairy farms around the country. The company’s farm based anaerobic digesters provide farm partners with a dedicated income stream from a 20 year+ land lease. The byproducts of the anaerobic digestion process are returned to the farm in the form of low-carbon, nutrient dense digestate used as biofertilizer and bedding for the farm’s herd.
This process creates a virtuous cycle – from farm to manufacturer and back to the farm, by harnessing the power of food and beverage waste and the farmʼs manure.
Published January 2025
