Noblehurst Farms installed their first anaerobic digester, with the help of funding from NYSERDA, nearly two decades ago to turn manure and food waste into biogas. The farm uses the energy produced and sells any unused energy to the local utility at a wholesale price. 

As the business grew, they upgraded their system and began to collect food scraps from local restaurants and grocery stores. The farm now breaks down the organic material via anaerobic digestion and produces biogas to power their dairy operations. With the new market opportunities created by the anaerobic digester, the farm has been able to diversify and grow its business, all while reducing greenhouse gas emissions. 

HOW A CLEAN FUEL STANDARD CAN HELP

The anaerobic digester at Noblehurst Farms is one of 30 operating digesters in New York. Now that the state has completed the initial step of funding these systems, owners of digesters need an economic environment to sustain these projects for the future.

A clean fuel standard is needed to create a market for the biogas produced. Currently, New York farms are looking to sell the biogas in California, where there is a larger market for clean fuels because of the clean fuel standard. A clean fuel standard in New York would keep this economic activity in state, help New York farmers scale biogas operations, provide alternative revenue streams to farmers while managing a waste that could impact water quality, and aid in reaching clean transportation goals. 

A clean fuel standard would also compliment the recently passed NYS food scraps diversion law.1 The food industry has raised concerns about the potential for increased cost associated with food waste disposal. However, a clean fuel standard would incentivize food waste diversion to anaerobic digestion and could lower tipping fees charged by those digesters to accept the material, since they’re gaining revenue from the sale of low carbon energy.