$217,200 Annually for cow poop!

Steely Dan

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http://www.democratandchronicle.com...nure-into-power?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|Home

Dairy farms turn manure into power
11:53 PM, Jul. 9, 2011

...The Zuber farm is one of about a dozen dairy farms around the state that has installed an anaerobic manure digestion system, relying on hundreds of thousands of dollars in government grants to build and run a small power plant running on poop.

In 18 months, the new manure digestion system has:

Cut Eric and Kim Zuber's annual bedding bill of $240,000 in half.

Reduced their annual electric bill of $108,000 by about 90 percent.

Provided a small income from excess power sold back to the power company.

Provided additional income from fees paid by food producers who dump their waste into the manure digester, too.

Perhaps most important for their neighbors is that the system has also reduced the odor of what's left over in the manure after the methane and solids are taken out....


bilde

Eric Zuber of Byron uses this 12-cylinder engine running on methane gas from cow manure to supply much of the power to operate his farm as well as two houses. A growing number of dairy farms are using manure to generate power. / JAMIE GERMANO/staff photographer
 
They are putting in a digester & machinery for the town next to ours and are offering farmers just over $200/cow to collect waste. The money the farmers are given will subsidize their need for fertilizer since they've always used the manure for that.
My biggest problem with it: the digester will be very close to the local high school--one guy paced it out at 700 feet. There is no A/C at the school--I cannot imagine how they will keep windows open for air flow during May, June, August, September and part of October. YUCK!
 
cool! Wish The tax payers weren't paying for it though
 
They are putting in a digester & machinery for the town next to ours and are offering farmers just over $200/cow to collect waste. The money the farmers are given will subsidize their need for fertilizer since they've always used the manure for that.
My biggest problem with it: the digester will be very close to the local high school--one guy paced it out at 700 feet. There is no A/C at the school--I cannot imagine how they will keep windows open for air flow during May, June, August, September and part of October. YUCK!

Maybe they should make the composter use some of the electricity to air condition the school.
 
"relying on hundreds of thousands of dollars of Government grants."

Pure insanity.
Our tax dollars should not be spent on this. If it truely is a good system it can survive on it's own. It's called capitalism.

November 2012 can't get here fast enough.
 
"relying on hundreds of thousands of dollars of Government grants."

Pure insanity.
Our tax dollars should not be spent on this. If it truely is a good system it can survive on it's own. It's called capitalism.

November 2012 can't get here fast enough.

Government grants for stuff like this get the ball rolling for important new technologies. Once the technology is solidified the grants will stop.
 
I think this is a wonderful idea. Consider all of the uses for cow dung in India, at least this will make it a "cleaner" process and provide an alternate source for electricity, much needed. Too bad I can't have a pet cow.

Electric cows. Very interesting. I hope this works out, sounds better than the old deep fryer oil powered cars.

cowpower.jpg
 

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