Why Calgren Is One of the Most Integrated Renewable Fuel Producers in the U.S.

Renewable fuel production is often talked about in pieces.

Ethanol. Renewable natural gas. Carbon capture. Dairy methane. Low-carbon transportation. Renewable process heat.

At Calgren, we see those pieces as part of something bigger. Our work is built around the idea that renewable fuel production can do more when every part of the process is connected.

That is what makes our approach different.

From our home in California’s Central Valley, we have built a renewable fuels platform that brings together agriculture, fuel production, dairy partnerships, energy reuse, co-products, public fueling, carbon management, education, and local economic support. We are not a single-pathway operation. We are an integrated, circular system designed to capture more value from every input while reducing the carbon intensity of the fuels we produce.

Ethanol Is the Foundation, Not the Finish Line

Our work begins with ethanol, one of the most established renewable fuels in the United States. Together, Calgren,and our sister facility  Pratt Energy,produce approximately 110 million gallons of ethanol annually, supporting fuel markets while helping reduce reliance on petroleum-based transportation fuel.

But ethanol production is only one part of our story.

In a more traditional model, a fuel plant might be measured by product and co-product production yields. We look at the whole system: what comes in, what goes out, what can be used or reused, what can be improved, and what can be turned into something valuable instead of wasted.

That mindset shows up throughout our operation.

The corn used in ethanol production also creates co-products such as wet distillers grains and corn oil. Wet distillers grains support local livestock feed markets, including the region’s dairy industry. Corn oil can be used in additional renewable fuel pathways or as a feed supplement.

It is a practical kind of circularity. Our facilities produce fuel, support agriculture, and help keep more value within the regional economy.

Dairy Methane Becomes Renewable Natural Gas

One of our most important integration points is our work with local dairies.

Through partnerships with more than 20 local family dairies, we capture methane from dairy manure before it can be released into the atmosphere. That methane is collected as biogas, transported through a centralized system, cleaned, upgraded, and converted into renewable natural gas.

The result is a fuel that does two things at once: it helps address methane emissions from agriculture and creates a low-carbon transportation or process fuel.

That matters because methane is a powerful greenhouse gas. Capturing it from dairy manure and turning it into RNG changes the role of that waste stream. What was once an emissions challenge becomes part of a renewable fuel solution.

This is where our integrated model becomes especially clear. The dairies are not separate from the fuel operation. They are part of the system. Agriculture, waste management, and fuel production work together.

Renewable Energy Is Used Inside the Process

Our integration is not limited to what we produce. It also extends to how those fuels are made.

At our Pixley facility, we use some of our dairy RNG as process fuel, helping reduce reliance on fossil natural gas in ethanol production. That is an important distinction. Renewable energy is not only leaving the facility as a finished fuel. It is also helping power the work happening inside the facility.

We also capture and reuse waste heat created through our cogeneration system. As the plant generates the electricity it needs, heat from that process is recovered and used, along with supplemental heat from RNG and natural gas when needed, to help generate steam for the facility.

Industrial heat is one of the harder parts of fuel production to decarbonize. Fuel plants need consistent, reliable heat, and that has traditionally meant using fossil fuels. By using renewable natural gas to supplement heat production, we are helping demonstrate another way forward,  lowering the carbon intensity of ethanol production without interrupting facility operations.

That is a key part of our broader story. We are not waiting for one solution to solve everything. We are layering solutions where they make sense.

Co-Products Keep the System Moving

A truly integrated renewable fuels platform does not stop at the primary fuel.

At Calgren, co-products are part of the value chain. Wet distillers grains support livestock feed needs, and our location near dairy farms in the Central Valley allows that feed to be used locally without the added energy demand of drying it for long-distance transport. That helps lower the carbon intensity of the feed while supporting the agricultural economy around us.

Corn oil creates additional opportunities for renewable fuel production. Captured biogas becomes RNG for transportation fuel or process energy. Carbon dioxide is also part of our carbon management strategy. We capture 100% of the CO₂ generated during our ethanol production process and partner with industry leaders to refine and distribute it as beverage, and pharmaceutical grade CO₂, turning a process byproduct into a high-value resource. Through the Tulare County Carbon Storage Project (TCCSP) currently in development, we are working toward the ability to capture and permanently store CO₂ in the future.

Each output is evaluated for its role in reducing carbon emissions.

That kind of thinking is what separates an integrated system from a linear one. In a linear model, materials move from input to product to waste. In a circular model, every stream is examined for its highest and best use with the ultimate goal of lowering total greenhouse gas emissions.

Our system is not just about producing renewable fuels. It is about building connections between fuel, feed, energy, agriculture, and emissions reduction.

From Production to Public Fueling

Our first public R-CNG station adds another important piece to the system.

By making renewable compressed natural gas available to local drivers and fleets, we connect fuel production directly to end use. The RNG produced through dairy methane capture is not an abstract carbon reduction strategy. It becomes a real transportation fuel that can be used by vehicles serving the region.

That closes an important loop.

Dairy methane is captured locally. The gas is upgraded into RNG. The fuel supports transportation locally. And the environmental benefit stays connected to the communities and industries where the system began. Compared to diesel or gasoline, RNG can reduce lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions by 50% to over 100% with dairy based RNG, achieving carbon negative intensity by capturing methane that would otherwise be released into the atmosphere.

For local fleets, public access to R-CNG can provide a practical path toward lower-carbon operations. For us, it represents another step in building a renewable fuel platform that reaches beyond the plant gate.

Carbon Storage Adds the Next Layer

Our integration also looks ahead.

The Tulare County Carbon Storage Project, currently in development, is part of our long-term carbon management strategy. Carbon capture and storage has the potential to reduce emissions associated with renewable fuel production by permanently storing CO₂ deep underground in suitable geologic formations. 

For us, this is not a separate idea from the rest of our work. It is another layer in the same larger effort: lowering carbon intensity across the renewable fuel production process.

Ethanol production, RNG, renewable process heat, dairy methane capture, public fueling, and carbon storage all address different parts of the carbon equation. Together, they create a more complete approach than any one pathway could provide on its own.

Supporting the Community Around the System

Our integrated model is also tied to the people and economy around us.

Renewable fuel production does not happen in isolation. It depends on farmers, dairy operators, truck drivers, plant operators, engineers, technicians, contractors, construction teams, and local service providers. By building and expanding our renewable fuel platform in the Central Valley, we help support a local economy connected to agriculture, energy, transportation, and skilled trades.

Our work also creates opportunities for education and workforce development. As renewable fuels, industrial heat decarbonization, and carbon management continue to grow, communities need more ways to understand these technologies and see where they fit into the future of energy.

We are engaged with local educators to share our story and help open the door for students to explore careers in renewable energy, low-carbon fuel production, and greenhouse gas reduction. We believe education helps connect students, workers, and local partners to the real-world systems being built in their own region. 

That matters because the energy transition is not only about technology. It is also about access, jobs, training, and local participation.

In our case, the same integrated platform that produces low-carbon fuels also creates opportunities for people to learn, work, and build around a changing energy economy.

Why Integration Matters

Greenhouse gas emissions reductions can not be achieved by one solution alone.

It will require practical systems that can connect existing infrastructure, agricultural communities, fuel markets, and emerging decarbonization tools. It will require companies that know how to operate today while investing in the next layer of carbon reduction.

That is where Calgren stands out.

Our model is grounded in real production, real partnerships, and real infrastructure. We bring together established renewable fuel production with newer pathways like dairy RNG, on-site energy recovery, public R-CNG fueling, carbon storage development, and education opportunities tied to the surrounding community.

The result is one of the most integrated renewable fuels platforms in the country, not because of a single project, but because of how the pieces work together.

Our approach shows what renewable fuel production can look like when it is treated as a system. Corn becomes ethanol. Co-products support agriculture and additional fuel pathways. Dairy methane becomes RNG. Renewable energy helps power production. Public fueling brings low-carbon fuel directly to local fleets. Carbon storage development prepares for the next phase of decarbonization. Education and workforce opportunities help connect the surrounding community to the future being built here.

It is circular. It is practical. And it is rooted in place.

For Calgren, integration is not just an operational advantage. It is the foundation of how we are helping shape the future of low-carbon renewable fuel production while supporting the local economy around us.