The end-use of the captured biogas has also seen a major shift over this period. Of the 471 systems today, 60% are now upgrading biogas to RNG, with the remaining 40% using the biogas to produce electricity or heat. By contrast, at the end of 2020, 74% of the biogas captured was used for power generation, while just 26% of all U.S. dairy biogas capture systems were producing RNG.
While reducing methane emissions and creating renewable energy, the 471 dairy biogas capture systems in operation today also recycle the manure from approximately 2.3 million dairy cows and produce natural fertilizer and animal bedding, in addition to reducing odors. In total, that's about 15 billion gallons of manure put to beneficial use every year.
Biogas capture from dairy manure has increased by 130% since 2020, now standing at 144,454 cubic feet per minute. In energy terms, this represents capacity of 47.2 million MMBtu - enough to power 615,000 homes each year and equivalent to preventing nearly 1 million tons of methane entering the atmosphere every year.
Almost $3 billion has been invested on U.S. dairy farms since 2020 to capture the biogas from their manure. Dairy-based biogas facilities opening in 2024 represented investments of $1.1 billion in that year alone.
CAPITAL INVESTED IN DAIRY BIOGAS CAPTURE SYSTEMS BY YEAR OF OPENING, 2020-2024 ($M)
n May 2025, the ABC released the new edition of its State Profiles which examines the potential for developing new biogas capture facilities. For the dairy sector, looking at the dairy farms with 500 cows or more, this potential extends to a total of 2,980 farms that could be added to the 471 facilities already operational. In total, just 14% of all potential dairy biogas facilities in the U.S. have been built.
Wisconsin has the highest potential for new dairy biogas capture systems, with 561 possible sites which could be added to the 54 currently operating. Over a third of operational systems in the U.S. are located in California, which still has potential for developing a further 543.
POTENTIAL FOR NEW BIOGAS CAPTURE SYSTEMS BY STATE
