USDA Extends Pause on Loans for Controversial Digesters That Turn Manure Into Biogas

USDA Extends Pause on Loans for Controversial Digesters That Turn Manure Into Biogas

Anaerobic digester loans showed “significant delinquency rates,” the U.S. Department of Agriculture said, while environmental groups see the technology driving an expansion of large-scale animal farming operations.By Steven Rodas, Lisa SorgThe federal government’s pause on new loans for anaerobic digesters, the controversial method of converting animal manure from large-scale feeding operations into biogas, will now extend through the end of the…

USDA Extends Moratorium on Biogas Digester Loans Through Year-End Due to High Default Rates

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has announced it will continue its suspension of new loans for anaerobic digesters through the end of 2024, citing troubling financial performance of these controversial renewable energy projects. The digesters, which convert animal waste from large-scale livestock operations into methane-based biogas, have experienced “significant delinquency rates and realized losses,” according to federal officials. Anaerobi…