Bigadan withdraws permit application for anaerobic digester – Pierce County Journal

Bigadan Withdraws Application for Anaerobic Digester in Ellsworth

By Sarah Nigbor

Representatives of Bigadan, a Danish renewable natural gas company, have decided to withdraw their special use permit application to build an anaerobic digester in Ellsworth. The project has been terminated.

In an email received by Village Administrator/Clerk-Treasurer Brad Roy from Bigadan consultant Ray Davy on Wednesday, April 3 at 12:36 p.m., it was stated that “Jorgen Fink at Bigadan informed me this morning that they wish to withdraw their application for a Special Use Permit to build a biogas facility in Ellsworth.”

Roy received another email at 2:38 p.m. on April 3 from Bigadan Project Development Executive Jorgen Fink, which stated “Following up from your meeting on April 28 (sic) and your decision, we hereby withdraw our Special Use Permit (SUP) Application for Ellsworth Biogenergy.”

Roy believes that Fink’s reference to the March 28 meeting is related to the inability to reach an agreement on the terms of the PILOT (Payment In Lieu of Taxes) and MOU (Memorandum of Understanding).

About Bigadan and the Proposed Project

Bigadan is a Danish renewable natural gas company with over 40 years of experience in engineering and construction services for biogas plants. They specialize in renewable energy production, manure and organic waste treatment, and nutrient recycling. The company had proposed to build a contained anaerobic digester and nutrient recovery facility on 25 acres owned by Ellsworth Cooperative Creamery near the East End Industrial Park in Ellsworth.

The project was expected to invest $190 million in the community over five years and create 37 jobs in trucking and at the plant. As the digester would have been considered a utility, it would have been exempt from property taxes. However, Bigadan proposed to voluntarily pay taxes on a yearly basis through a “payment in lieu of taxes” (PILOT) arrangement.

Bigadan currently owns and operates 10 biogas plants in Denmark. The proposed digester in Ellsworth would have processed various waste streams, including animal waste from local farms and whey water from Ellsworth Cooperative Creamery, converting them into natural gas and CO2 byproducts.

Reasons for Choosing Ellsworth

The project was first proposed publicly in July 2023. Pierce County Economic Development Director Joe Folsom stated that Ray Davy reached out to him to identify a potential location. Ellsworth was considered desirable due to its proximity to farms, the creamery, an existing natural gas pipeline, and UW-River Falls, which is home to one of the largest dairy science programs in the United States.

It is worth noting that both Hudson and Menomonie’s wastewater treatment plants, as well as the Ellsworth Cooperative Creamery’s Menomonie location, already have anaerobic digesters in operation.

Anaerobic Digestion Process

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, anaerobic digestion is a process in which bacteria break down organic matter (such as animal and food waste, and wastewater biosolids) in the absence of oxygen within a sealed vessel called a reactor. The reactors contain complex microbial communities that break down the waste and produce biogas and digestate, which are the solid and liquid byproducts of the process.

Community Concerns

Since August 2023, many citizens have voiced their concerns about the project during Ellsworth Village Board meetings. These concerns include potential odor issues, decreasing property values, safety risks, proximity to homes, increased truck traffic, impacts on infrastructure, lack of transparency, and conflicts of interest.

SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

1. Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?

• SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy
• SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
• SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure
• SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
• SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production
• SDG 13: Climate Action
• SDG 15: Life on Land

2. What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?

• SDG 7.2: Increase the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix
• SDG 8.5: By 2030, achieve full and productive employment and decent work for all women and men, including for young people and persons with disabilities, and equal pay for work of equal value
• SDG 9.4: By 2030, upgrade infrastructure and retrofit industries to make them sustainable, with increased resource-use efficiency and greater adoption of clean and environmentally sound technologies and industrial processes
• SDG 11.6: By 2030, reduce the adverse per capita environmental impact of cities, including by paying special attention to air quality and municipal and other waste management
• SDG 12.4: By 2020, achieve the environmentally sound management of chemicals and all wastes throughout their life cycle, in accordance with agreed international frameworks, and significantly reduce their release to air, water, and soil in order to minimize their adverse impacts on human health and the environment
• SDG 13.2: Integrate climate change measures into national policies, strategies, and planning
• SDG 15.3: By 2030, combat desertification, restore degraded land and soil, including land affected by desertification, drought, and floods, and strive to achieve a land degradation-neutral world

3. Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?

No specific indicators are mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets.

4. Table: SDGs, Targets, and Indicators