Ben & Jerry’s adopted the use of converting food production waste into clean energy to power its Vermont facility.

PurposeEnergy, a provider of organic waste-to-renewable energy solutions, announced the opening of its anaerobic digestion facility in St. Albans, Vermont. The ice cream producer signed a long-term feedstock agreement with PurposeEnergy in 2021.

Construction of the facility began in May 2023. The facility began exporting electricity to the Vermont grid in December 2024. This milestone marks PurposeEnergy’s first project fully funded by Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners following the firm’s acquisition of PurposeEnergy in April 2023.

The St. Albans facility converts high-strength organic waste and out-of-spec food products into renewable energy and clean water. Ben & Jerry’s sends production waste streams via a dedicated pipeline directly to the facility.

Additional feedstocks from regional producers are transported by Casella, Wind River Environmental, Evergreen Services and Carmichael Trucking, which help to centralize food waste management and expand the facility’s positive environmental impact.

“This project strengthens Ben & Jerry’s commitment to environmental sustainability by providing a long-term solution for organic waste,” said Ben & Jerry’s Global Sustainability Manager Jenna Evans in a statement. “It will reduce Vermont’s road traffic, lower greenhouse gas emissions, and decrease phosphorous pollution.”

PurposeEnergy-St. Albans was built on land purchased from Franklin County Industrial Development Corporation and is expected to generate 8,750,000 kWh annually of renewable electricity exported to the Vermont grid under the state’s Standard Offer program, which supports the deployment of small-scale renewable generation. 

The facility also recovers up to 45,000 million Btu annually of renewable thermal energy used to heat the digester and support facility operations.