Monday, October 31, 2005
More Digesters Funded- Result Will Probably Be More and More Poop
Subsidy gives a boost to production of methane for generating power
Nick Reisman
Albany bureau
(October 29, 2005) — ALBANY — Farmers may soon look to make money out of an unlikely source — manure — as New York continues its search for unorthodox sources of energy.
State utility regulators this week approved a subsidy that’s intended to encourage small to mid-size farms to convert their manure into methane gas. Essentially, it provides farmers with the same subsidy that a private homeowner gets for using solar-energy panels. About 200 farmers could benefit.
That’s good news for folks like Rob Noble, who purchased a “methane digester” three years ago to generate energy and reduce his reliance on other forms of electricity.
“The project will pay for itself with this ruling,” said Noble, who runs a 1,250-cow farm in Linwood, Livingston County.
Oh, and there’s one other big benefit to converting manure, he said: a substantial reduction in odor.
Previously, only large farms could generate enough megawatts of power from methane to qualify for renewable energy credits. Now, farms that generate less than one megawatt of energy per hour are eligible for state funds to install the methane generators.
Methane gas, usually made from bacteria-rich cow manure, plant waste and garbage, can be used to generate electricity for a farm, according to the New York Farm Bureau, which had lobbied the state Public Service Commission to include small farms. The waste leftover becomes a nutrient-rich fertilizer.
The program was set up after Gov. George Pataki announced a plan last year to have renewable fuels make up 25 percent of the state’s energy needs by 2013.
“We’re very happy that the PSC took the actions that they do and it’s a tremendous opportunity for New York’s agriculture,” said Farm Bureau spokesman John Tauzel.
But some farmers report mixed results.
“I don’t know if the return is great as everyone would like to say,” said Bob Aman, a dairy farmer in Candor, 18 miles south of Ithaca. “Everyone likes to say the payback is in six to seven years, but it isn’t.”