NOVI Energy LLC announced the Fremont Community Digester (FCD) power project has secured financing and begun construction. The complete mix anaerobic digester plant in Fremont, Michigan closed financing on May 13, 2011 and is scheduled to begin commercial operation in summer 2012. It is one of the first large-scale anaerobic digesters using co-digestion to be built in the United States.
The $22 million project will utilize proven co-digestion technology to process approximately 100,000 tons per year of both organic waste and agricultural waste into "green" biogas (methane) which will be used to generate approximately 3 megawatts of renewable electricity. The power will be sold to Consumers Energy under a long term contract. The plant will also produce dilute liquid fertilizer and compost for purchase by regional agricultural businesses.
The Fremont Community Digester will reduce the amount of organic waste sent to landfills near its feedstock suppliers, improve the sustainability of area farms as they use FCD's organically- based fertilizer instead of traditional fossil fuel-derived fertilizers and improve the environmental quality of runoff water in the area. The project has signed feedstock supply contracts with Fremont-based Gerber Products Company and several other major regional food processors and agricultural operations. Supplying organic waste to the digester can be a key component of an organization's zero-landfill strategy.
NOVI Energy is FCD's developer and NE BioFuels, a NOVI subsidiary, is the managing partner and minority owner of the project. "This project will help the West Michigan regional economy by adding investment, jobs and taxes locally, bringing together local industrial and agricultural interests and adding reliable, renewable electricity to Michigan's electric grid," said Anand Gangadharan, president and CEO of NOVI Energy. "Fremont Community Digester can be the first of many such projects to convert industrial and agricultural wastes into electricity or other needed commodities, thereby addressing a significant environmental concern in the U.S."
Fremont Community Digester's majority owner is INDUS Energy, LLC, an investment group located in Bingham Farms, MI. North Central Cooperative of Wabash, IN is a minority owner and will market the plant's fertilizer and compost. Comerica Bank is providing debt financing for the project with the backing of a debt guaranty awarded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) under its 9003 Biorefinery Assistance Program.
Fremont Community Digester LLC, the project company, has hired DeMaria Building Co. as its engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor. FCD issued a notice to proceed to DeMaria to begin building the plant.
NOVI Energy is an entrepreneurial company that provides a broad range of services in energy consulting, energy management and energy infrastructure project development for utility, industrial, institutional and commercial clients across the United States and the world.
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