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The Wisconsin project, dubbed the “world’s largest fertilizer biogas project,” emits nearly 5,000 tons of climate-warming methane a year, roughly equivalent to the emissions of 30,000 gasoline-powered cars, according to state data, adding to concerns about the impact of large-scale fertilizer digesters.
The biogas project in question, owned by BC Organics, LLC, emitted 4,921 tons of methane in 2024, at least in part due to leaks at the facility, the report said. Apply to Wisconsin Aviation Management Program in 2025. The facility also reported over 26,000 tons of CO2 emissions in 2024.
BC Organics receives approximately 900,000 gallons of fertilizer daily from 11 farms and passes the waste through 16 anaerobic digesters to capture methane and produce renewable natural gas.
Such digesters are becoming increasingly common in the United States to handle the large amounts of waste produced by large livestock and dairy farms. There is Estimation There are 394 fertilizer-based digesters in operation in the United States, with more than 70 under construction. This has increased by 55% over the past 10 years. 
The selling point of such projects is that they can reduce climate-warming emissions, particularly methane, from animal waste. MAccording to the report, the Anure digester reduced greenhouse gas emissions by more than 13 million tons in 2023. Latest data available from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)).
However, critics and researchers argue that large amounts of methane are still being released into the atmosphere from these facilities, as seen in the BC Organic case. And government incentives for building more digesters will only encourage further concentration of livestock and more waste.
Digesters are “not the solution to climate change that they’re being advertised as,” said Brent Kim, a research associate at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health who studies the benefits and potential harms of digesters.
Digesters are “not the solution to climate change that is being advertised.” – Brent Kim, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
he and his colleagues published the study Last year, it was found that manure digesters “only address a small fraction of livestock-related greenhouse gas emissions” and that the risks could outweigh the benefits. He said that while research has shown some benefits of digesters, such as reducing odors and pathogen loads in manure, there remains “the potential for new pollutants to be introduced into the atmosphere.”
“There is flaring…gas is often burned or flared on site,” he said. “It can bring not just methane, but nitrogen oxides, sulfur oxides, particulate matter and other potential respiratory hazards.”
strong pollutants
Methane is a much more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide and is often converted to “carbon dioxide equivalents” to measure its climate impact. BC Organics’ methane emissions in 2024 will be equivalent to 140,000 tons of CO2, equivalent to the emissions of more than 30,000 gasoline-powered cars per year.
Total annual methane emissions from all U.S. facilities (including power plants, landfills, refineries, and other sources) equal 60.4 million tons of CO2. EPA Greenhouse Gas Inventorythis does not include agricultural resources.
According to the EPA inventory, Wisconsin’s annual methane emissions are equivalent to 1.5 million tons of CO2. BC Organics’ methane emissions alone account for nearly 10% of emissions from the province’s entire non-farm sector. Its methane emissions are much lower than those from other small-scale manure digesters in the state. The next largest total of methane emissions from manure digestion projects was just 307 pounds, according to state filings.
BC Organics may be reducing overall methane emissions from participating farms, given that the captured methane is used to produce renewable natural gas. It is unclear how much those savings will be, but this project Website The company says it produces 1,630 MMBtus (million British thermal units) of renewable natural gas (typically more than 90% methane) per day.
Company officials did not respond to requests for comment on methane reduction, emissions or leaks. In a 2024 filing with provincial regulators, BC Organic answered “yes” to a question about whether there were “deviations or leaks” that resulted in emissions. The company also wrote that it had “vented the digester.”
Craig Czarnecki, air quality management outreach coordinator for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, said the agency discovered the leak during an inspection in June 2024.
“The department is working with BC Organics to address potential leaks and odor complaints,” Czarnecki said. “BC Organics has been installing equipment upgrades to prevent future leaks. The new components are expected to be fully installed by the end of May 2026.”
“The department is working with BC Organics to address potential leaks and odor complaints.” – Craig Czarnecki, Wisconsin DNR
He added that BC Organics has a non-disclosure agreement with the ministry, so details of the upgrade cannot be disclosed. Testing of “primary” sources like BC Organics is done on a two-year cycle.
loan arrears
BC Organics was part of the Biden administration’s investment drive for biogas projects, including fertilizer digesters, but due to a January directive from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), the company announced that it would suspend loans aimed at promoting anaerobic digesters for three months due to loan arrears and other reasons. The agency cited $102.6 million in delinquent loans for anaerobic digesters, but did not name the delinquent companies.
USDA Analysis by The New Lede renderlens portal The investigation revealed four anaerobic digester loans totaling $102.6 million in delinquency. $100 million of that belongs to BC Organic, whose loans, which originally totaled more than $104 million, are 181 to 360 days in arrears. The only delinquent USDA loans for anaerobic digester projects are $891,179 to Dovetail Energy LLC of Ohio and $696,492 to Ringler Energy LLC of Ohio, according to the portal.
BC Organics is currently seeking permit renewal in the City of Wrightstown, where it is located. Town officials discussed the update at a March meeting; closed session for discussion, even though the rest of the meeting is open to the public.
Wrightstown Chairman William Verbeten said the town’s focus “remains on the health, safety and welfare of our town residents, visitors, and the entire Wrightstown community” as the board considers permit renewal.
“The renewal of the conditional use permit will highlight these considerations and ensure BC Organic honors the commitments it made to the town when it originally applied for and received the permit,” he added.
Featured Image: Austin Santaniello/Unsplash +
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Brian Bienkowski is the editor-in-chief of The New Lede. He is a veteran journalist with over 15 years of experience covering the environment and human health. Prior to joining TNL, he was a senior editor at Environmental Health News for nearly a decade, overseeing the newsroom and two local bureaus. He was also the founder, producer, and host of the EJ podcast Agents of Change from 2020 to 2024.
Bienkowski has received multiple awards for her editing and reporting, including honors from the Healthcare Journalists Association, Columbia School of Journalism, Hunter College, and the Environmental Journalists Association. He has a master’s degree in environmental journalism from Michigan State University and lives in northern Michigan.
