South Fork Dairy RNG - Progress and Tragedy

ICE-powered manure vacuum similar to this blamed for devastating diary barn fire.

By EVWorld.com Si Editorial Team

The celebrated RNG launch

Clean Energy Fuels announced that South Fork Dairy in Dimmitt, Texas had begun injecting renewable natural gas (RNG) into the pipeline system. The project is one of the largest of its kind, designed to capture methane from manure lagoons and convert it into pipeline-quality gas. RNG is marketed as a climate solution, offsetting fossil natural gas and earning credits under the U.S. Renewable Fuel Standard.

The missing chapter - April 2023 fire

What the press release does not mention is the devastating fire of April 10, 2023. A manure vacuum truck caught fire inside a mega-barn, igniting a blaze that killed an estimated 18,000 dairy cows - the deadliest cattle-related incident ever recorded in the U.S. The barn had only been completed in 2020, part of an expansion to support RNG production.

Industrial scale and risk

The fire highlighted the risks of intensive livestock operations built to feed RNG digesters. Vacuum trucks, designed to collect manure efficiently for biogas, were implicated in the blaze. The tragedy underscored how the push for RNG can drive herd expansion, larger barns, and new technologies that may compromise safety.

Corporate and policy context

Clean Energy Fuels, founded by T. Boone Pickens, partners with oil majors like TotalEnergies and BP to expand RNG projects. While RNG is promoted as a climate-friendly fuel, critics note that it prolongs reliance on natural gas infrastructure and incentivizes larger herds, with consequences for animal welfare, worker safety, and local ecosystems.

Conclusion

The South Fork Dairy RNG project is both a symbol of progress and a reminder of costs. To tell the full story, one must acknowledge not only the methane captured and injected into pipelines, but also the 18,000 lives lost in the fire that made headlines in 2023. Renewable energy narratives cannot be separated from the realities of industrial agriculture.

Sources

• https://www.cleanenergyfuels.com/press-room/clean-energy-begins-injecting-rng-into-the-pipeline-at-one-of-the-countrys-largest-rng-projects-south-fork-dairy
• https://blog.datadesk.eco/p/south-fork-fire

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