TotalEnergies and Vanguard Renewables begin construction on a new agricultural renewable natural gas project in Virginia

AMELIA COURT HOUSE, Va., Oct. 23, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — TotalEnergies today announces that it has broken ground with its joint venture partner Vanguard on the Oakmulgee Dairy Farm renewable natural gas (RNG) project in Amelia Court House, Virginia. Renewables, a portfolio company of Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), part of BlackRock.

Oakmulgee Dairy Farm will produce more than 259,000 million British thermal units per year (MMBtu/a) of renewable gas via an anaerobic digester and divert more than 105,000 tonnes of food and drink waste per year from landfill or incineration. The RNG produced at Oakmulgee will power AstraZeneca’s biopharmaceutical manufacturing facilities in Maryland.

TotalEnergies and Vanguard Renewables, a U.S. leader in agricultural natural gas production from bio and renewable energy, announced the formation of a company in April 2024 50-50 percent joint venture to develop, build and operate RNG projects in the United States. The partners are currently bringing 10 projects into construction with a total annual RNG capacity of 0.8 TWh (2.5 Bcf or 2,500,000 MMBtu). Beyond these initial ten projects, the two companies will consider investing in a potential pipeline of approximately 60 projects across the country.

“We are pleased to break ground on the Oakmulgee Dairy Farm project, which realizes TotalEnergies’ ambitions with our market-leading partner Vanguard Renewables to accelerate the development of processing food biowaste into renewable natural gas in the United States,” he said Marc de Lataillade, Vice President Biogas at TotalEnergies. “This project in Virginia and two others currently under construction in Wisconsin and Minnesota are part of a promising potential project pipeline that will support TotalEnergies’ goal to be a leader in the rapidly growing renewable gas market.”

“We are thrilled to partner with the Moyer family, who are truly building the farm of the future, to bring this transformative technology to life,” said Neil H. Smith, CEO of Vanguard Renewables. “By converting inedible and unsaleable food and beverage waste and dairy cow manure into renewable gas, we are not only reducing greenhouse gas emissions and making final use of methane, but also creating a sustainable energy source that benefits both the environment and local communities.”

TotalEnergies in the United States
TotalEnergies has been operating in the United States since 1957 and has a presence throughout the U.S. energy value chain, from exploration and production to renewable energy, refining and petrochemicals, as well as trading and marketing activities. With a business presence in 35 states and half of our institutional investors based in the country, the U.S. is a key market for TotalEnergies to implement our multi-energy strategy focused on delivering low-cost, low-emission hydrocarbons and providing integrated energy solutions for clean Energy concentrates solid energy to US customers.

TotalEnergies and biogas
TotalEnergies is a leading company in the European biogas segment with a production capacity of 1.1 TWh. The company aims to become a major player in this segment in several key markets, particularly in Europe and the United States, through collaboration with leading partners such as Clean Energy and Vanguard Renewables. The company operates along the entire value chain, from project development to commercialization of this renewable gas and its by-products, including biofertilizers and BioCO2.