U.S. dairy biogas capture nears record levels

The American Biogas Council says 496 U.S. dairy farms now capture energy from manure, nearly triple the total since the end of 2020. The growth is drawing billions in investment and could still scale much further as farms look for new revenue and lower-emission waste handling.

Why it matters: - Dairy manure is becoming a larger energy source for U.S. farms and utilities. - The shift turns a waste stream into renewable natural gas, renewable electricity, fertilizer products and animal bedding. - The systems also reduce methane emissions and manure odor. - The American Biogas Council says the current fleet prevents about 1 million tons of methane emissions a year, equal to taking about 5.9 million gasoline-powered cars off the road.

What happened: - The American Biogas Council released new data on June 11, 2026, during National Dairy Month. - The data shows 496 American dairies now capture energy from manure through anaerobic digestion. - Since the end of 2020, dairy biogas capture has nearly tripled. - In 2025, 38 dairy farms started capturing biogas from manure. - Those projects added capacity to capture about 9 Bcf of biogas annually.

The details: - Nationwide, dairy biogas systems now recycle manure from about 2.5 million dairy cows. - Those systems put more than 16 billion gallons of manure to beneficial use each year. - Current dairy biogas capture totals about 84 Bcf a year. - That output equals 52.3 million MMBtu. - The energy is enough to power about 680,000 homes each year, or nearly all households in Idaho. - Nearly $4 billion has been invested in dairy biogas projects since 2020. - About $800 million of that investment was tied to facilities that opened in 2025. - Texas, Idaho and Wisconsin accounted for more than half of last year’s investment activity. - About 65% of operational dairy biogas systems upgrade captured biogas into renewable natural gas. - The remaining 35% use biogas to generate electricity or heat with engines, linear generators or fuel cells. - Without biogas systems, farmers typically store manure in open lagoons until it can be spread on fields as fertilizer. - With biogas systems, farmers capture renewable energy first and return odor-free digestate to fields, where nutrients are more readily available to crops.

Between the lines: - The data points to a farm-sector investment trend that combines energy production with waste management and fertilizer recovery. - Patrick Serfass, ABC’s executive director, said the projects represent major investments in rural America and show farmers are adopting technologies that reduce emissions, strengthen operations and create new economic opportunities. - The scale of the investment suggests dairy biogas is moving from niche deployment toward a more established rural infrastructure play. - The remaining untapped market is still large, which means the sector may have room for faster growth if financing, permitting and farm economics line up.

What’s next: - The American Biogas Council says farms with at least 500 cows could support about 2,955 additional methane-capturing biogas systems. - Overall, only about 14% of potential U.S. dairy biogas projects have been developed. - If fully built out, the remaining potential could add 186 Bcf of biogas production a year. - That would be more than double current production and enough renewable energy to power another 1.4 million U.S. households annually. - More information is available in the council’s announcement.