Stanton Farms becomes first agricultural-based renewable natural gas supplier

Ilderton farm leading the way A farm in Ilderton will become the province’s first agricultural-based renewable natural gas supplier. Jenn Basa reports.

Dozens gathered at Stanton Farms’ new facility on Friday which will produces renewable natural gas (RNG) from local and farm-based organic waste.

The expansion will benefit the environment by taking community-based organic waste and diverting it from landfills to create more renewable electricity.

“Since we moved to Ilderton our goal has been to build a more sustainable farming operation and we appreciate the support we’ve received from all levels of government,” said Laurie Stanton the president of Stanton Farms.

“Stanton Farms’ new RNG facility builds on our commitment to sustainability and helps decarbonize Canada’s natural gas supply.”

In 2006, the dairy farm relocated to Ilderton from London and now houses over 1,000 cows.

The new RNG facility will produce over three million cubic metres per year of RNG to Ontario’s natural gas network, which will produce enough renewable energy to provide heat to over 1,300 homes.

The renewable dairy operation at Stanton Farms will remove 11,000 tonnes of GHG emissions, which is equivalent to removing 2,200 vehicles off the road each year, according to Monte McNaughton, MPP for Lambton-Kent-Middlesex.

“Overall our government is investing about a billion dollars in conservation projects across the province, but our role in this was to change the regulations to allow projects like this to be accelerated,” said McNaughton.

Enbridge has been working with Stanton Farms since they expanded the natural gas pipeline to the farm.

“Then Stanton Farms biogas facility was once again expanded and another anaerobic digester was built,” which is dedicated to renewable natural gas.