Project Description
Middlebury College will continue to reduce its carbon footprint thanks to an innovative partnership with Goodrich Family Farm in Salisbury, Vermont, Vanguard Renewables of Wellesley, Massachusetts, and VGS. Vanguard Renewables owns and operates the Farm Powered Anaerobic Digestion facility at Goodrich Family Farm where cow manure and food and beverage waste are combined to produce Renewable Natural Gas (RNG). The Goodrich Family Farm is a generational dairy farm with 900 milking cows and is a member of the Agri-Mark Cabot Creamery Cooperative.
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.
We are constantly looking for ways to make our energy sources sustainable and diverse. The digester project is a great opportunity to further decrease our use of carbon-based fuels.
— David Provost, executive vice president finance and administration, Middlebury College
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 fertilizers. The farm will also benefit with reduced greenhouse gas emissions, animal bedding, and an annual lease payment for hosting the anaerobic digester facility.
FARM FACTS
- Generational Vermont dairy farm
Located in Salisbury, Vermont
Owned and operated by the Goodrich family
900 milking cows on site
1750 acres of hay
650 acres of corn
DIGESTER FACTS
- Two 925,430-gallon anaerobic digesters
Phosphorus management system
Hydrolyzer
FARM BENEFITS
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
Annual Digester Inputs
Annual Digester Output
Project partners:
Goodrich Farm, Vanguard Renewables,
Middlebury College, VGS
Goodrich Farm in the News
Welcome David Darr: Vanguard Renewables New Chief Sustainability Officer
A conversation with David Darr, Chief Sustainability Officer at Vanguard Renewables, where he shares his background and how he plans to shape his role.
Top 10 of 2021: Renewable energy projects finally come to the fore
In July Goodrich Farm in Salisbury launched the largest farm-powered anaerobic digester in the Northeast, converting cow manure, and food and beverage waste, into renewable natural gas.
Manure Manager: Q&A: What does next-generation sustainability look like?
Sustainability isn’t new for the family behind Goodrich Farm, but they do have a new way of reducing their environmental footprint. In addition to cows and crops, the Salisbury, Vermont farm started producing renewable natural gas last July.
Goodrich Farm: A Definition of Sustainability
For the Goodrich family, sustainability is more than a catchphrase, as they are always searching for ways to be more efficient and improve their operation.