California Bioenergy

What California Bioenergy does

California Bioenergy (CalBio) is a private US company founded in 2006 and headquartered in Tulare, California, with a secondary office in Dallas, Texas. The company designs, develops, finances, constructs, and operates anaerobic digester projects on family dairy farms, capturing methane-rich biogas from dairy manure and converting it into Renewable Natural Gas (RNG) for vehicle fuel or pipeline injection, and into electricity via internal combustion engines, Bloom Energy fuel cells, and Mainspring linear generators. Its portfolio comprises 120+ projects either operational or in development, organized into named clusters in California (Kern, West Visalia, North Visalia, South Tulare, Hanford, Buttonwillow, and Hilmar), with expansion into South Dakota via a joint venture with UGI Energy Services and Sevana Bioenergy. Hydrogen sulfide is captured from biogas and converted to elemental sulfur for use as a soil amendment, and infrastructure includes over 40 miles of pipeline at the South Tulare cluster connecting digesters to a centralized upgrader.

CalBio generates revenue from four streams: RNG sales (to transportation fleets and via pipeline injection), electricity generation and sales (to utilities and direct users including potential data center and EV charging use cases), carbon credit and LCFS environmental attribute monetization, and project development and long-term operations services. The company secures long-term offtake agreements with California utilities (SoCalGas, PG&E, SCE) and strategic counterparties such as Chevron and BMW, while partnering with technology providers (Bloom Energy, Mainspring Energy) and capital partners (Brookfield Renewable, UGI Energy Services, AgWest, Bridge Investment Group). Grants and incentives from the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) and federal environmental programs support project economics. The go-to-market motion is sales-led, combining direct outreach to dairy farmers via a dedicated dairy relations team with institutional financing and utility offtake development.

Operational scale includes 78 digesters completed in California as of December 2024, annual impact of 1.9M+ metric tons CO2e reduced and 5.1M+ MMBtus of RNG and electricity produced, and 5.3 MW of Mainspring linear generator capacity deployed across five sites by February 2026. The leadership team is founder-led by CEO N. Ross Buckenham alongside President Neil Black, COO David De Groot, CFO Abdulla Kagalwalla, and VPs covering project development, dairy relations, gas operations, greenhouse gas programs, and commercial offtake.

Name

California Bioenergy

Legal name

California Bioenergy LLC

Website

https://calbioenergy.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

California Bioenergy (CalBio) is a private US dairy biogas company that designs, finances, and operates anaerobic digester projects on family dairy farms, converting captured methane into Renewable Natural Gas and electricity for utilities, fleets, and industrial buyers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Renewable Natural Gas & Biogas Energy Services

NAICS

Biomass Electric Power Generation (221117)

SIC

Cogeneration Services & Small Power Producers (4991), Electric, Gas & Sanitary Services (4900), Agricultural Services (700)

akta.pro primary industry

Anaerobic Digestion (AD) & Biogas/RNG Production (Organics Feedstocks) (BPALAEAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Biogas/RNG Plant Development, EPC & Project Delivery (EUAAAEAH), Anaerobic Digestion Biogas Power (Agricultural & Industrial AD) (EUACAIAD), Biogas Upgrading to RNG & Injection/Fueling (Gas Cleanup, Compression) (EUAIAEAF)

Keywords

• Dairy biogas systems
• Renewable natural gas
• Anaerobic digester projects
• Biogas electricity generation
• Methane capture solutions

Headquarters

HQ city

Visalia

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. RNG Sales (Vehicle Fuel): Upgraded Renewable Natural Gas is sold to fuel transportation vehicles (trucks and buses). RNG can be injected into utility pipelines or used directly as vehicle fuel.
2. Electricity Generation and Sales: Biogas is used to generate electricity via internal combustion engines, fuel cells, or linear generators. Electricity is sold to utilities, used to power dairy farms, electric vehicles, or data centers.
3. Carbon Credit Monetization: Environmental attributes and carbon credits generated from methane capture and emissions reduction are sold to carbon buyers.
4. Dairy Digester Development Services: CalBio designs, develops, finances, constructs, and operates digester projects for dairy farmers, generating revenue from project development and long-term operations management.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

California Bioenergy designs, develops, finances, operates, and manages dairy anaerobic digester projects that capture methane-rich biogas from dairy manure and convert it into Renewable Natural Gas (RNG) for vehicle fuel or pipeline injection, and into electricity sold to utilities and end users. The company delivers full-service project lifecycles — financing, engineering, construction, and long-term operations — across named cluster geographies in California (Kern, Buttonwillow, Hanford, North Visalia, West Visalia, South Tulare, Hilmar) and South Dakota, serving 120+ dairy farm partners.

Product overview

California Bioenergy (CalBio) is a dairy biogas energy company that develops, finances, operates, and manages anaerobic digester projects on family dairy farms. The portfolio consists of three core product types: Cluster RNG Projects (piping biogas to central upgrading facilities for pipeline injection), Virtual Pipeline Projects (trucking upgraded biogas via tube trailers), and Electricity Projects (generating power via internal-combustion engines, fuel cells, and linear generators). These projects are organized into named geographic clusters — including Buttonwillow, Hanford, Hilmar, Kern, North Visalia, South Tulare, and West Visalia in California, plus South Dakota and RNG Trucking — collectively representing over 120 projects either operational or in development. The company also partners with technology providers including Bloom Energy (fuel cells) and Mainspring Energy (linear generators) to diversify its electricity generation capabilities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Manure Happens: Trademarked tagline brand for California Bioenergy

Quantifiable outcome

• 1.9M+ metric tons CO2e reduced annually
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature7 records

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship, key account and supporting.

• CDFA (California Department of Food and Agriculture)coreOthers · 1 April 2025CDFA awarded CalBio multiple grants in April 2025 to support dairy RNG project development in California. CalBio utilizes available government programs to make projects economically secure.
• ChevronflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 November 2024Chevron and CalBio completed a renewable natural gas central processing facility in Hilmar, CA (November 2024). The partnership encompasses RNG processing, biomethane fuel projects, and dairy biogas initiatives dating back to 2019.
• UGI Energy ServicescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023UGI invested in additional RNG projects in South Dakota. CalBio and UGI formed a joint venture to develop RNG dairy digester projects in South Dakota, with UGI funding projects including the first South Dakota dairy RNG project entering construction in May 2022.
• Sevana BioenergycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Joint venture partner with UGI Energy Services for South Dakota digesters. Sevana Bioenergy contributes to the development of RNG projects in South Dakota.
• Mainspring EnergycoreTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2022CalBio expanded deployment of Mainspring Linear Generators to 5.3 MW across five California sites from 2022 to 2026. Mainspring's linear generator technology converts biogas into electricity with high efficiency.
• Bloom EnergycoreTechnology or Integration · 1 November 2021CalBio and Bloom Energy partnered to generate renewable electricity from dairy manure. The partnership includes next-generation technology deployment powering BMW electric vehicles and fuel cell electricity generation projects.
• BMWkey accountOthers · 1 November 2021BMW receives renewable electricity generated from dairy manure through Bloom Energy technology powered by CalBio biogas projects, supporting BMW's sustainability goals.
• SoCalGas (Southern California Gas Company)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSoCalGas is a utility partner receiving RNG injection from CalBio projects. RNG produced from CalBio digesters is upgraded and injected into SoCalGas pipeline for distribution.
• PG&E (Pacific Gas and Electric)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPG&E is a utility partner purchasing electricity and/or receiving RNG from CalBio projects in California.
• SCE (Southern California Edison)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSCE is a utility partner purchasing electricity generated from CalBio biogas projects.
• Dairy Farmers (120+ families)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerCalBio partners with 120+ dairy families across California and South Dakota. Partners provide manure feedstock and site access in exchange for new revenue streams, waste management solutions, and environmental benefits.
• Port of Seattlekey accountOthersPartner utilizing CalBio's environmental attributes and sustainable energy solutions for port sustainability initiatives.
• American Biogas CouncilsupportingOthersIndustry association partner supporting biogas industry development and advocacy.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Vanguard Renewables: Vanguard Renewables develops farm-based anaerobic digester projects that convert manure into RNG, mirroring CalBio's core dairy-digester-to-RNG business model and serving similar farm and utility customers in the U.S.
• Maas Energy Works: Maas Energy Works is a California-based developer of dairy digester projects that produces RNG and electricity for utility and transportation customers, directly overlapping CalBio's Central Valley clusters and offtake relationships.
• Archaea Energy: Archaea Energy (acquired by BP) develops RNG from organic waste including agricultural and landfill sources, producing pipeline-quality RNG for vehicle and utility markets — a directly comparable manure-to-RNG developer now operating at scale.

Broad incumbents

• Clean Energy Fuels: Clean Energy Fuels is the largest U.S. provider of natural gas and RNG vehicle fuel with an extensive fueling station network, comparable as a downstream RNG offtaker and transportation market for CalBio's vehicle-fuel RNG.
• Anaergia: Anaergia supplies anaerobic digestion and biogas upgrading technology and operates organics processing facilities, comparable as an AD technology and service provider that competes in similar dairy and food-waste-to-RNG projects.
• Chevron Renewable Energy Group: Chevron REG produces renewable diesel and is also an RNG partner/investor in CalBio, comparable as a large incumbent in renewable fuels with overlapping offtake and feedstock strategy.

Emerging players

• Opal Fuels: Opal Fuels produces RNG from landfill, dairy, and organic waste sources for transportation fuel use, with overlapping end markets in RNG vehicle fuel and carbon credit monetization that CalBio also targets.
• Aemetis: Aemetis develops renewable fuels (RNG, biodiesel, ethanol) and biogas upgrading projects, comparable in its use of LCFS credits and California dairy/agricultural feedstocks to produce low-carbon fuels.

Others

• DVO (Dairy Valley Organics / DVO, Inc.): DVO designs and manufactures anaerobic digester systems used on dairy farms to produce biogas, an upstream technology supplier and indirect peer for CalBio's digester development projects.

Regional players

• Prometheus Energy: Prometheus Energy develops and operates renewable natural gas and biogas projects, including dairy and landfill sources, with comparable RNG production, offtake management, and project development services.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/CalBioenergy
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/california-bioenergy-llc/?viewAsMember=true

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about California Bioenergy