Generate Upcycle says Fremont anaerobic digester closed after years of disputed enforcement by EGLE

Generate Upcycle’s vice president of operations told the Michigan House Committee on Oversight that his company permanently closed its Fremont, Michigan anaerobic digestion facility in late 2023 after protracted conflicts with the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE). Dan Masarello said the company decided to shutter the plant after repeated regulatory changes and enforcement actions made continued operation economically unviable.

Why it matters: The Fremont plant processed food and other organic wastes into renewable electricity, renewable natural gas and organic soil amendments. Masarello told the committee the facility supported local manufacturers and agricultural users, produced about 3 megawatts of distributed renewable electricity at times and employed roughly 20 permanent workers. The closure, the company says, left local businesses without a sustainable outlet for an estimated 150,000 tons per year of organic waste from manufacturing operations.

Masarello said Generate Upcycle and its parent, Generate Capital, a sustainable-infrastructure investor, operate 24 organic-waste facilities across multiple jurisdictions and…