Chevron, the nation’s second-largest oil company, is partnering with Brightmark RNG, a waste solutions company, to build five facilities throughout the state converting dairy farm biomethane into renewable natural gas for transportation fuel.
Four of the five locations would be in West Michigan, including Greenville in Montcalm County, Hartford in Van Buren County, Orleans Township in Ionia County, and Coopersville in Ottawa County. A fifth location is planned for Morenci in Lenawee County on the east side of the state.
Chevron sought a $100 million tax-exempt bond to fund the investment, and the Michigan Strategic Fund approved the bond authorization during its board meeting Tuesday. This makes bonds issued by a private financial institution, in this case Bank of America, tax-exempt through the state.
The board also granted BerQ, a developer of renewable natural gas projects in the U.S. and Canada, a $235 million bond authorization to fund four state facilities, including one in Hopkins in Allegan County and one in Fulton in Kalamazoo County.
The projects capture biogas collected from animal waste into a sealed tank known as an anaerobic digester. This waste is turned into renewable gas that is transported through state and interstate pipelines to power vehicles. Anything left over can be used by farms as fertilizer.