Brightmark, Chevron Athena Project Delivers First Renewable Natural Gas

MINNEHAHA COUNTY, S.D. — Brightmark RNG Holdings — a joint venture partnership between Chevron U.S.A. Inc., and Brightmark Fund Holdings — has delivered its first gas created from the methane-rich manure of dairy cows.

The Athena Project comprises three farms: Boadwine Farms, Pioneer Dairy and Moody Dairy located in Minnehaha County on the eastern border of South Dakota.

Together, under the auspices of Chevron and Brightmark, they produce the feedstock that is eventually turned into dairy biomethane, a renewable natural gas.

Methane generated by the manure from the Athena Project is expected to be captured, cleaned and converted into RNG, which can be used for transportation, cooking or electricity. The gas is anticipated to be injected into the local interstate pipeline system statewide.

“Achieving first gas at the Athena Project marks another major milestone as Brightmark continues to scale and expand our RNG production footprint throughout the country,” said Bob Powell, founder and CEO of Brightmark, in a written statement.

“Through our collaboration with Chevron and Lynn Boadwine, owner of Boadwine Farms, Pioneer Dairy and Moody Dairy, we believe the Athena Project further demonstrates the transformative economic and environmental benefits of partnering with our country’s essential farmers to reduce and offset lifecycle carbon emissions,” Powell said.

Andy Walz, president of Chevron’s Americas Fuels & Lubricants, said renewable natural gas undertakings like the Athena Project are designed not only to capture methane that is currently emitted into the atmosphere, but also “to support our commitment to meeting out customers’ growing demands for lower carbon fuel solutions.”

Similarly,  Boadwine said as agriculture and technology continue to advance and evolve, “it has become apparent now more than ever that these two industries need to work hand-in-hand for the sake of our environment and those that inhabit it.

“With the achievement of first gas at the Athena Project, we believe we are actively demonstrating the positive results that can be produced by the coalescence of agriculture and scientific innovation,” Boadwine said.

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