Matt Brewing launches $5 million biogas-to-power facility

through a process called anaerobic digestion.

The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) provided a $1 million incentive to Matt Brewing Co., the second-oldest family brewery in the nation, for the system. The company will also receive up to $750,000 in funding from power company National Grid, as well as federal tax credits, the organizations said in a joint news release. The total project cost is $5 million.

The 400 kilowatt (kW) system will produce enough clean energy to power the equivalent of 400 homes, according to NYSERDA. The project will provide between 35 and 40 percent of the brewer’s daily power needs and reduce electricity costs by about $350,000 annually. It will have an expected payback of five to six years, according to the release.

The system works like this, as described by the organizations: organic wastewater from the brewing process, mostly wastewater, is pumped into a large holding tank instead of discharging into the sewer system. It is then pumped to the five digester tanks, where bacteria digest the wastewater, producing a methane-rich biogas. The biogas is then burned to produce electricity.

“This anaerobic digestion facility is a fascinating project. We’re creating energy from waste, and our company is benefiting from it,” Nick Matt, chairman and CEO of Matt Brewing, said. “We are very thankful to NYSERDA and National Grid for providing the funding to make this clean-energy project possible.”

Funding for Matt Brewing comes from NYSERDA’s Anaerobic Digester Gas-to-Electricity Program, which provides up to $1 million in money to support the purchase, installation, and operation of such systems in New York state. A total of $57 million is available on a first-come, first-serve basis through 2015, the authority said.

National Grid says its Renewable Energy and Economic Development program provides matching grants of up to $750,000 for collaborative projects that involve an upstate research institution, one or more renewable energy, energy storage, or clean-transportation technology partners, and a regional economic-development sponsor. Eligible generation technologies include, but are not limited to, solar, photovoltaic, geothermal, biomass, and anaerobic digestion. Since the inception of the program in 2010, several upstate New York companies have participated in the program and were awarded a total of $2.5 million in funding, National Grid says.

Matt Brewing produces about 330,000 barrels of beer and soda a year. The company says it first committed to the anaerobic-digestion project in 2010, with Environmental Management Group International, Inc., based in Media, Pa., as the lead system-design engineer. Construction on the digester system began in early 2012, with installation of a 200,000-gallon wastewater-equalization tank, five 40,000-gallon anaerobic fluidized bed digester tanks, and the power-generation equipment.

Contact Rombel at arombel@cnybj.com