Latest renewable gas plant in Madison County completed and pumping fuel to northeast Florida

Overhead view of Chesapeake Utility Corporation's RNG production facility at Full Circle Dairy in Lee, FL.

The latest renewable natural gas (RNG) plant is now online in North Central Florida. Chesapeake Utilities Corp. commissioned its new dairy renewable natural gas facility in Lee.

The Full Circle Dairy RNG plant was opened last week in Lee in North Central Florida. Chesapeake Utilities spent $22 million on the facility which, to be clear on the “dairy” facet of the plant, turns manure from dairy cows into “pipeline quality” RNG for distribution, a company news release said. Full Circle Dairy is the long-established dairy company and operation in Lee famous for T.G. Lee products.

The RNG facility actually began production in June and the final aspects of construction and operational touches were finished in late October. The plant is producing and redirecting “more than 1,100 metric tons of methane per year into a renewable energy source, an emission reduction equivalent to powering 3,500 homes for a year.”

Jeff Householder, board chair, president and CEO of Chesapeake Utilities, said the facility is an example of careful partnership.

“The RNG facility at FCD is a great example of our ability to leverage our expertise across the entire energy delivery value chain — from production to virtual pipeline transportation, injection, transmission and distribution – while supporting our strategic focus on prudent capital deployment,” Householder said. “We share FCD’s commitment to innovative approaches that result in a more sustainable future for customers and our local communities.”

The FPU Renewables LLC actually built the physical facility in Madison County. FPU Renewables is a subsidiary Florida Public Utilities. Chesapeake Utilities is the entity that transports through its subsidiary Marlin Gas Services.

The transportation of the gas aspect goes through a virtual pipeline from the Lee facility in North Central Florida to Northeast Florida. The destination for the RNG is Yulee in Nassau County along Florida’s First Coast area. Residents in the Northeast Florida county are the primary customers of the gas produced at the facility cranking out the RNG. Chesapeake Utilities is a well-established gas transportation company based in Dover, Delaware.