Leyline Renewable Capital Partners with PurposeEnergy to Convert Ben & Jerry's Dairy Waste into 1 MW of Renewable Energy

Leyline's funding will enable PurposeEnergy to convert Ben & Jerry's dairy waste and ice cream into clean water and power for up to 1,000 homes

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Leyline Renewable Capital

May 18, 2021, 10:15 ET

DURHAM, N.C., May 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Leyline Renewable Capital, a leading provider of pre-construction debt and equity capital for renewable energy development, announced a partnership with PurposeEnergy, a developer that designs and operates industrial wastewater treatment systems that convert organic residuals into renewable energy and clean water.

Leyline's funding will facilitate the development of the SAINT project in St. Albans, Vt., that will anaerobically convert industrial food waste, including Ben & Jerry's high-strength dairy waste and depackaged ice cream, into 1 MW of renewable energy and clean water.

The SAINT project will break ground this year and start processing ice cream waste in fall 2022. Once in operation, the project will generate enough renewable energy to power approximately 1,000 Vermont homes and will sequester phosphorus, preventing it from entering the Lake Champlain watershed. Excess phosphorus can cause algae blooms, reduce water clarity, create odor, and harm aquatic life, which reduce recreational use of the lake and impact tourism and the environment in the region.

"By providing development-stage financing to PurposeEnergy, Leyline is supporting an initiative that will not only allow PurposeEnergy to generate renewable energy for the Vermont grid, but will benefit the entire St. Alban's business community," said Erik Lensch, CEO of Leyline.

PurposeEnergy will construct this anaerobic pre-treatment plant adjacent to the Ben & Jerry's production site, which will be connected via a buried three-inch pipe that will receive Ben & Jerry's byproducts for treatment, eliminating the need for hundreds of waste tanker trucks each year. In order to maximize power output from the digesters, PurposeEnergy will blend other feedstocks, including depackaged food waste, chocolate, and cheese byproducts, with the ice cream. As a result, other businesses in the community can also use the digesters to process their byproducts, while saving money and reducing their carbon footprint.

"PurposeEnergy hopes to revolutionize the way food and beverage production facilities process, utilize, and reclaim organic waste," said Eric Fitch, founder and CEO of PurposeEnergy. "We are grateful that Leyline provided us with the critical capital we needed to get this project started, as well as the guidance we needed to initiate the SAINT project and help Ben & Jerry's manage its byproducts in a sustainable way."

Renewable energy developers interested in partnering with Leyline Renewable Capital can learn more here.

About Leyline Renewable Capital
Leyline Renewable Capital invests in the development, construction, and financing of sophisticated renewable energy projects. Backed by a team of seasoned investors with deep experience in the renewable industry, Leyline provides financing that bridges the gap between development and construction. By investing in the pre-construction phase of renewable energy projects, Leyline is able to accelerate the development process and help developers scale their business. Leyline leverages a broad base of experience in greenfield project development, design, construction, and finance with an extensive network of relationships with industry leaders to provide support and capital for projects from concept to commercial operation. Leyline actively promotes anti-racism and diversity in the renewables industry and reports quarterly on its environmental impact and social change efforts. Learn more about Leyline Renewable Capital at https://leylinecapital.com.

About PurposeEnergy
PurposeEnergy is revolutionizing the way food and beverage production environments of all sizes process, utilize, and reclaim organic waste. Our waste stream solutions feature the innovative Tribrid-Bioreactor™ – the highest-efficiency methane conversion digester on the planet. Wherever you find a Tribrid-Bioreactor™, you'll also find production and plant managers who have increased production uptime and volumes, eliminated trucking and off-site disposal costs, reduced energy and water bills, and lowered their carbon footprint. That's the real power and purpose of the PurposeEnergy solution.

SOURCE Leyline Renewable Capital