The California Public Utilities Commission announced funding for six pilot projects over the next 20 years to demonstrate the use of dairy methane waste as a renewable transportation fuel, according to a Dec. 3 press release.

• The commission established the program to cut short-lived climate pollutants, including methane, which is 28 times more potent than carbon dioxide.
• The projects are mandated under legislation enacted in 2016 requiring the state to lower methane emissions from the dairy and other livestock sectors by 40 percent by 2030.
• The proposals were selected by an interagency committee composed of representatives from the Public Utilities Commission, Air Resources Board, and Department of Food and Agriculture.
• Forty-five dairies will take part in the pilot designed to collect biomethane from dairy digesters for injection into natural gas pipelines. The project developers are California Bioenergy LLC, Maas Energy Works Inc., and DVO Inc.