California Bioenergy is expanding its dairy biogas operations with the purchase of eight additional power generators to be installed this year at facilities in North Visalia and South Tulare.
The company converts methane emissions from dairy farms into electricity using biogas captured from manure digesters. CalBio operates cluster sites where biogas from multiple nearby dairy farms is collected, processed, and used to generate power.
CalBio was the first dairy digester developer in the US to use linear generators powered by dairy biogas. The company started with a 1-megawatt installation at its Hanford cluster site in 2022 and has since added capacity at Buttonwillow, a standalone Merced County dairy, and now North Visalia and South Tulare. By the end of 2026, CalBio expects to operate 5.3 megawatts of generation capacity across five locations.
The systems create a new revenue stream for dairy farmers while improving regional air quality. CalBio’s operations cut approximately 1.9 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent annually, roughly equal to taking 430,000 gasoline-powered cars off the road.
“To lead the state in dairy methane emission reductions, while also supporting our local family dairies and communities, requires a constant focus on innovation as well as efficiency, resilience, and cost reduction,” said N. Ross Buckenham, CalBio’s chairman and CEO.
The generators from Mainspring Energy offer fuel flexibility and low emissions, producing less than 1.5 parts per million of nitrogen oxides without requiring special pollution control equipment. That meets California’s strict air quality standards, which matter in agricultural regions with persistent air quality challenges.
Adam Simpson, Mainspring’s chief commercial officer, said the partnership helps California dairies become among the most sustainable in the world while reducing the state’s dairy methane emissions.
