In Connecticut, Ag-Grid Energy has broken ground on its fourth biogas to electricity project. Hytone Ag-Grid, in partnership with Hytone Farms, would be Ag-Grid’s fourth dairy digester in the northeast US and will begin construction in March 2022. It is expected to be operational in Fall 2022 and will produce around 4.5 million kWh of renewable electricity per year derived from manure and food waste.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]The renewable electricity produced from the Hytone Ag-Grid project will be consumed by the City of New Britain where Mayor Erin Stewart and Manager of Facilities & Energy Jon Delgadillo have supported both of Ag-Grid’s Connecticut projects with Virtual Net Metering contracts.
Ag-Grid is committed to contributing towards renewable energy goals as well as food waste diversion goals as the State of Connecticut makes pivotal decisions to shut down its older incinerators. In July 2022, the Materials Innovation and Recycling Authority’s (MIRA) 30-years old garbage incinerator in Hartford, Connecticut will close. An estimated 700,000 tons of waste will be transferred to landfills out of state. Each year, Connecticut generates approximately half a million tons of food waste. But a lot of that food waste goes into traditional waste streams, like Hartford’s MIRA facility, where it gets incinerated.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Ag-Grid Energy’s projects are positioned to receive liquid food waste and have expansion plans to add depackaging at the Connecticut facilities in Coventry and Thompson to support the State as MIRA the incineration facility shuts down in 2022.
Ag-Grid Energy was able to utilize the virtual net metering (VNM) program that State of Connecticut has supported agricultural VNM. The program is being replaced in 2022, however, Ag-Grid Energy was able to benefit from this program to install the first and now second dairy digester that would produce renewable electricity. This aligns with Ag-Grid Energy’s vision of farm sustainability and creating financial stability for small to mid-size dairy farms. Greg Peracchio, owner of Hytone Dairy signed into this vision to jointly own Hytone Ag-Grid and continue to be a progressive dairy with the eye towards the future.
“Ag-Grid Energy’s strategic partnerships with various food waste providers, Live Oak Bank, regulatory bodies such as USDA and CT DEEP as well as Martin Construction Resource as our EPC provider has been crucial in developing Hytone Ag-Grid, our 4th biogas to electricity project. We continue to expand to dairies across US and move towards adding biogas to RNG projects to our portfolio”. says Rashi Akki, CEO of Ag-Grid Energy.