BioCNG breaks ground on biogas project in Colorado

BioCNG LLC announced that it participated in a groundbreaking ceremony to launch the BioCNG biogas conditioning system and gas pipeline for the Persigo wastewater treatment plant (WWTP), in Grand Junction, Colorado. The BioCNG system will produce about 500 gallons of gasoline equivalent per day from the WWTP digester gas, which will be piped in a dedicated pipeline nearly 6 miles on a public roadway right-of-way to Grand Junction's existing compressed natural gas (CNG) fueling station. The project is jointly owned by the City of Grand Junction and Mesa County, Coloardo, and is scheduled to be completed by April 2015.

The ceremony for the $2.8 million project was attended by Grand Junction Mayor Phyllis Norris and Mesa County Commissioner Steve Acquafresca, along with Leslie Hentze, representing the Colorado Department of Local Affairs, which contributed more than $500,000 for the project. Also on hand was Mike Melan, project manager for BioCNG, which provides the biogas conditioning equipment, engineered and permitted the system, and will be providing construction management, commissioning, and system start up.

According to Mayor Norris, "The Persigo BioCNG Project can serve as a model for other communities as part of a strategy to address air quality, climate change, energy efficiency, and energy security and independence."

The BioCNG will be used to fuel a fleet of 30 vehicles, including City refuse trucks, dump trucks, pick-ups and sedans. The project, the first its kind in Colorado, continues the City's movement toward a CNG-fueled fleet. The savings in CNG fuel versus diesel fuel are expected to pay off immediately and the cost of the entire project should be paid off in a decade.

According to the City of Grand Junction, the project also eliminates burning off methane biogas that is the equivalent of about 146,000 gallons of gasoline a year, and prevents the annual release into the atmosphere of nearly 3 million pounds of carbon dioxide.

Matt Davies, president of BioCNG, said, "The City of Grand Junction and Mesa County have been leaders in expanding the use of CNG for their fleet and it is exciting to be part of this new initiative."