Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Gold/Mining/Energy : ONYI - Originally New York, Inc. (Bulls Board) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: jmhollen who wrote (4)	1/25/2007 9:46:52 PM
From: jmhollen	Respond to of 7

Cow Power East Central Electric Association, a distribution co-op in Braham, Minnesota, will soon be getting power from an unusual source: cow manure. A local dairy farmer is building a huge "methane-biomass recovery system," one of only a dozen in the country and the first in the Midwest. East Central has signed a five-year contract to buy the excess energy. The recovery system runs the cow manure through a "digester," a concrete trench covered by a membrane. As microbes break down the manure, methane gas is released, harnessed and run through a generator to produce electricity. When the farming operation grows to 1,000 cows, as planned, the expected electrical output will be 100,000 kWh, enough to make the farm energy self-sufficient. East Central anticipates buying 100 kW around the clock at full retail price. "We have an extensive green power program, so this complements our effort to produce and market energy from renewable sources," says Henry Fischer, manager of business and community development at East Central. He is also enthused about having a member supply renewable energy, which breaks new ground for the co-op. Dennis Haubenschild, who owns the farm with his wife, Marsha, has a track record of keeping the farm "environmentally, socially and economically balanced," as he puts it. East Central has worked with him on other improvements, such as adding four energy-efficient, off-peak electric water heaters. In addition to electricity, the recovery system creates two by-products: an odor-free slurry that will be used to fertilize Haubenschild's fields and a high-grade compost that will be sold to local garden centers. The expanded dairy operation will create 30 new jobs. The system is being built with $275,000 in state and federal loans and grants, including assistance from AgSTAR, a program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Reprinted with permission from Rural Electrification Magazine. .