JBS USA and GreenGasUSA partner to boost gas production at Hyrum plant
The JBS USA beef production facility in Hyrum is getting an upgrade of its existing methane capture capabilities to maximize methane capture and renewable natural gas (RNG) production at the plant.
The project is a joint effort of JBS USA Foods, owner of the Hyrum facility, and GreenGasUSA, a Charleston, South Carolina, company that converts waste streams into natural gas.
By installing GreenGasUSA’s on-site gas upgrading system, biogas collected from the wastewater streams of the JBS facility will be purified into pipeline-quality RNG, allowing end users to displace fossil fuel usage. In Hyrum, this partnership is expected to produce over 140,000 dekatherms of RNG per year, displacing emissions equivalent to 19 million miles driven by an average gasoline-powered passenger vehicle. This natural gas will be injected into a regional gas pipeline.
“JBS is constantly working to increase sustainability, protect our environment, and improve our local community,” said Marvin Spidle Jr., JBS Hyrum general manager. “This partnership is an exciting way to take that work a step further, by transforming biogas into renewable natural gas that local businesses can use to reduce their emissions.”
“GreenGasUSA is deeply committed to developing solutions that address GHG emissions in the most difficult-to-decarbonize industries,” said Marc Fetten, CEO and founder of GreenGasUSA. “We see tremendous opportunity in our partnership with JBS USA to significantly reduce on-site environmental impacts, produce sustainable, renewable energy and support climate change initiatives in other industries.”
Originally built in 1936 by E.A. Miller Meat & Livestock Co., the Hyrum beef facility was purchased by JBS USA in 2007 and processes nearly 500,000 cattle per year, exporting approximately 20 percent of its production to countries including Japan, Taiwan, Korea and Mexico. The facility employs approximately 1,500.