We Put Waste To Work

Clean Fuel Partners exists to make a difference by improving the environment in tangible and measurable ways. We do this by partnering with farmers and communities to transform agricultural waste into renewable energy and other products that support sustainable agricultural practices. Clean Fuel Partners owns and manages proven, advanced biodigester systems that put waste to work for our customers and the stakeholders they serve.

Our core values of performance, innovation and advocacy align our goals – to maintain profitability while achieving sustainable environmental objectives.

• Performance: We make decisions with foresight, focusing on optimization and efficiency to improve operations and maintain peak performance levels.
  
• Innovation: We are committed to the pursuit of technological advances that meet current and future waste management and environmental needs.
  
• Advocacy: We work with community, government and business leaders to open dialogue focused on policy reform, renewable energy systems and environmental sustainability.

Our Goals

• Capture methane that would otherwise be released into the atmosphere through the natural decomposition of organic waste.
• Remediate excess nutrients from digested matter to preclude overloading of soil and preventing nutrient overloading of waterways and bodies of water from groundwater runoff.
• Utilize biogas to:
  • Generate electricity,
  • Create renewable natural gas, and/or
  • Produce other renewable fuel or
  • other products which displace hydrocarbon-based products

In addition to achieving environmental objectives, the primary condition to implementing additional projects is they must be viable as a business matter; otherwise they will not be sustainable.

Our Story

Focused on his desire to use technology and business solutions to bring about positive environmental changes in the world, founder and CEO John Haeckel enlisted the help of partner and CAO Jessica Niekrasz to research opportunities in the renewable energy sector.

Clean Fuel Partners was established in 2014 with the expressed goals of methane capture, nutrient recovery, and creating renewable energy.

As newcomers to the renewables industry, CFP focused on acquiring existing facilities to alleviate the considerable capital investment associated with new builds. The result was CFP’s lead off investment in a distressed agricultural waste processing facility in Dane County, WI.

Purchase of the Dane County digester facility (along with its sister site at Crave Brothers Farmstead Cheese) was finalized in late 2015. Clean Fuel Partners’ commitment to the success of the Dane facility began with the purchase and installation of a new roof on one of three existing 1.5 million gallon digester tanks. Since then, CFP has completed many improvement projects, including the addition of a new centrifuge and screw press to facilitate fiber separation and reduced maintenance.

In the course of a year, a turnaround of this facility is near; achieved by building strong relationships with local government, environmental groups, and surrounding communities. Many updates and advancements have been made at both the Dane and Crave facilities, resulting in an 18% increase in electrical production, 35% increase in phosphorus reduction and 49% increase in substrate intake (Dane facility).

Business Solutions For Environmental Problems

Decomposing organic waste increasingly threatens our air, soil and water. Unchecked, these environmental contaminants will continue to release methane, which is 21x more potent than CO² as a contributor to climate change, and poison soil and water from over-concentrations of otherwise healthy nutrients.

CFP captures methane that would otherwise be released into the atmosphere through natural decomposition and removes excess nutrients during the process. This prevents overloading of soil and nutrient runoff that can adversely impact waterways, bodies of water and groundwater. CFP uses the biogas captured to generate electricity, natural gas and other products; displacing hydrocarbon-based products.

We recognize that every business has a purpose that includes making money but we also are in business to do well for the environment. Because the environment is shared with stakeholders in the region, our goal is to create value for that constituency as well. We recognize the values, principles and practices that comprise our business, our people and the greater community.

Our Vision

Clean Fuel Partners applies strategy, vision and ingenuity to organic waste processing.

The dairy industry plays a significant role in the US economy, but also contributes directly to emissions of greenhouse gases and pollution of the watershed. It is of great importance to foster solutions that allow agricultural growth without damaging the fragile ecosystem.

We look at opportunities from a systematic solution rather than a one off approach and we are focused on cleaning up waste streams and their by-products. Our waste management solutions not only support the agricultural industry and protect the environment, but also keep jobs, money and resources in the community.

Clean Fuel Partners operates with the guiding principle of doing well by doing good.