The Athena Project
The Athena renewable natural gas (RNG) project in South Dakota will include the construction of new anaerobic digesters on three Minnehaha County farms: Boadwine Farms, Pioneer Dairy, and Mooody Dairy. This project will produce a total of 55.6 million gallons of manure each year. After the project is complete, the methane generated by this manure will be captured, cleaned, and converted into RNG, which can be used for transportation, cooking, or electricity. The gas will be injected into the local interstate pipeline system statewide. The project is part of the recently announced joint venture Brightmark RNG Holdings LLC, a Brightmark platform in partnership with Chevron U.S.A. Inc.
“As dairy farmers, we can be part of the solution in helping the environment. The digester projects are a win-win because we have the ability to further process the manure while reducing greenhouse gasses. Agriculture continually evolves. Our improvements in sustainability in the last generation are just short of incredible. Unfortunately, we don’t often tell our story. We are looking forward to partnering with Brightmark to bring these next-generation projects to South Dakota.”
– Lynn Boadwine, Owner of Boadwine Dairy, Inc.

“As dairy farmers, we can be part of the solution in helping the environment. The digester projects are a win-win because we have the ability to further process the manure while reducing greenhouse gasses. Agriculture continually evolves. Our improvements in sustainability in the last generation are just short of incredible. Unfortunately, we don’t often tell our story. We are looking forward to partnering with Brightmark to bring these next-generation projects to South Dakota.”
– Lynn Boadwine, Owner of Boadwine Dairy, Inc.
Project Benefits
GHG Reductions
The Athena Project is anticipated to prevent greenhouse gas emissions each year.
Resource Recovery
The facility will generate renewable gas each year.
Waste To New Products
This will be the first-ever Dairy Renewable Natural Gas Project in South Dakota.
Partners
Brightmark and Chevron co-developed the project via our joint venture, Brightmark RNG Holdings LLC. IPS is providing engineering, procurement, and construction services for Den Dulk, with ongoing project operations and maintenance support provided by NAES. Energyneering is providing additional engineering support.
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