All Codigestion Projects
Salisbury, VT – Goodrich Family Farm
Salisbury, VT
Middlebury College will continue to reduce its carbon footprint thanks to an innovative partnership with Goodrich Family Farm in Salisbury, Vermont, Vanguard Renewables of Weston, Massachusetts, and VGS.
Project Facts
- Generational Vermont dairy farm
- Located in Salisbury, Vermont
- Owned and operated by the Goodrich family
- 900 milking cows on site
- 1,750 acres of hay
- 650 acres of corn
- Utility: VGS
- Annual digester inputs: 65,700 tons of food waste and 36,500 tons of manure
- Annual digester output: Produces 140,000 Mcf of RNG per year, equivalent to fueling a bus for 7.4 million miles
Impact
Much of the renewable natural gas produced by the Goodrich Farm digester travels by pipeline to Middlebury College’s main power plant. Middlebury has agreed to purchase the bulk of the facility’s output as part of Middlebury’s Energy2028, a 10-year commitment to shift completely to renewable energy to power its central campus.
The Farm Powered project at Goodrich Farm does more than produce renewable natural gas. The project features an extensive phosphorus removal system to protect the Otter Creek Watershed which feeds into Lake Champlain. Additionally, the facility will generate high quality, low-carbon liquid fertilizer that will reduce the farm’s reliance on synthetic, chemical fertilizer. The farm will also benefit with reduced greenhouse gas emissions, animal bedding, and an annual lease payment for hosting the anaerobic digester facility.
Farm Benefits at a Glance
- Income diversification via annual lease payment for land use
- Liquid, low-carbon fertilizer to increase crop yields and reduce chemical fertilizer use
- Separated solids for animal bedding
- Phosphorus reduction to protect sensitive watershed area
- Reduced GHG emissions
