Pasture to Power: The BMW Group and Straus Organic Dairy Farm Deliver Clean Energy for California.

• Partnership will use dairy farm waste to feed more renewable energy into power grid.
• When BMW owners plug in their cars to charge, they will be helping to bring new renewable energy to dairy farms throughout the state.

Mountain View, CA – November 20, 2019… When the BMW Group started producing electric vehicles, the objective was to make sustainability a core component not just of the cars themselves, but of every element from design to engineering, supply chain to manufacturing. Now this holistic approach to sustainability extends to the electricity that goes into the cars as well.

Today, the BMW Group and Straus Organic Dairy Farm announced a partnership that will reduce emissions of greenhouse gases from farming while simultaneously delivering the cleanest possible fuel to EV drivers in California. When owners plug in their cars to charge, they will be helping to bring new renewable energy to dairy farms throughout the state.

A methane biodigester at Straus Organic Dairy Farm in Marshall, California, captures methane from cow manure, which would otherwise enter the atmosphere as a powerful greenhouse gas. This methane captured from the cow manure is transformed into renewable energy, which is exported to the public power grid, replacing the need for fossil fuels. By delivering a ‘double’ emissions reduction, biodigesters can produce electricity that has negative carbon intensity, according the California Air Resources Board.

“This collaboration is the first of its kind in the auto industry,” said Bernhard Kuhnt, president and CEO, BMW of North America. “It is a perfect fit for the BMW Group, which has long valued creative technologies and partnerships that can contribute to reducing greenhouse gas emissions.”

“With the current climate change crisis; the relationship that we’re forging with BMW is essential,” said Albert Straus, founder and CEO of Straus Family Creamery. “In addition to being a great collaboration, we are developing the blueprint for a model that can generate revenue for other farmers throughout California.”

Over the coming years, the BMW Group anticipates that the renewable energy generated by partnerships like this will equal the electricity needs of every BMW and MINI electric vehicle in the state of California. “We are well on our way to ensuring that every electric mile driven by BMW and MINI owners in California is covered,” said Adam Langton, BMW USA Energy Services Manager.

For the BMW Group, this initiative is yet a further step in facilitating the use of renewable energy for electric vehicles. The BMW ChargeForward pilot program, which operates in the San Francisco Bay Area of California, makes it possible for participating owners to charge their vehicles with as much solar energy as possible, while also helping the stability of the public electricity grid.

BMW Group in America

BMW of North America, LLC has been present in the United States since 1975.  Rolls-Royce Motor Cars NA, LLC began distributing vehicles in 2003.  The BMW Group in the United States has grown to include marketing, sales, and financial service organizations for the BMW brand of motor vehicles, including motorcycles, the MINI brand, and Rolls-Royce Motor Cars; Designworks, a strategic design consultancy based in California; technology offices in Silicon Valley and Chicago, and various other operations throughout the country.  BMW Manufacturing Co., LLC in South Carolina is the BMW Group global center of competence for BMW X models and manufactures the X3, X4, X5, X6 and X7 Sports Activity Vehicles. The BMW Group sales organization is represented in the U.S. through networks of 348 BMW passenger car and BMW Sports Activity Vehicle centers, 149 BMW motorcycle retailers, 121 MINI passenger car dealers, and 38 Rolls-Royce Motor Car dealers.  BMW (US) Holding Corp., the BMW Group’s sales headquarters for North America, is located in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey.

Information about BMW products is available to consumers via the Internet at:

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Journalist note: Information about BMW and its products in the USA is available to journalists on-line at www.bmwusanews.com. 

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About Straus Organic Dairy Farm

Founded in 1994, Straus Family Creamery is a mission-driven, family-operated business dedicated to making premium organic dairy products, with minimal processing. The Straus Organic Dairy Farm and Creamery, located in the small town of Marshall on the Northern California Coast, was the first certified organic dairy farm west of the Mississippi River and the first 100% certified organic creamery in the United States. In addition to the Straus Dairy Farm, Straus Family Creamery buys certified organic, Non-GMO Project Verified milk from eleven other organic family farms in Northern California’s Marin and Sonoma Counties. The combination of rich soil, one of the nation’s most diverse grassland systems, and a mild coastal climate create the ideal setting for organic dairy farming. Land stewardship and sustainable farming are deeply rooted principles in certified organic farming practices.