Courtesy of Middlebury Newsroom
MIDDLEBURY, Vt. – Representatives from Middlebury College, Vanguard Renewables, Vermont Gas Systems (VGS), Goodrich Family Farm, and the state of Vermont—including Vermont Governor Phil Scott and Lieutenant Governor Molly Gray—celebrated the start of gas production at the largest anaerobic digester in the Northeast on July 21 at an event on the dairy farm in Salisbury, Vermont.
The anaerobic digester—built, owned, and operated by Vanguard Renewables—can recycle daily more than 180 tons of unavoidable food and beverage waste from manufacturers, retailers, and distributors, and 100 tons of dairy manure into renewable natural gas (RNG). The Goodrichs’ 900 cows provide the manure and Vermont businesses, including Ben and Jerry’s and Cabot/Agri-Mark, supply the food waste. The facility at the Goodrich Farm is the company’s first in Vermont and marks the first time it has supplied renewable natural gas to a college.
“This is an incredibly exciting initiative, and I want to thank the Goodrich Family, VGS, and Middlebury College for their hard work,” said Governor Scott. “Think about it—we’ve got a Vermont farm, a Vermont utility, a Vermont college, and national energy innovators all coming together to build a model for our region. And it can be replicated in other parts of the state, and country, as well. This is truly transformative work that Vermonters can be proud of.”