Methane to be turned into power at Valley farms

By Richie Davis

06/16/2009- Daily Hampshire Gazette

Manure from dairy farms in Deerfield, Colrain and Hadley would be combined with food waste from supermarkets and food producers to generate electricity, with the help of a $34,800 state grant announced last week.

The Department of Agricultural Resources grant would help Hager Bros. dairy farm in Colrain, Bar-Way Farm in Deerfield and Barstow's Longview Farm in Hadley, as well as others in Granville and Rutland, to develop site plans and engineering drawings for German-made Schmack BioEnergy digesters on the farms.

Methane digesters have been used for years on farms with 1,000 or more cows, but the Schmack anaerobic digester is sized for smaller farms like those in Massachusetts, according to Gerard Kennedy, who directs the agency's Division of Agricultural Technical Assistance.

The digester burns methane gas from composted manure and vegetative matter to power an electric generator.

In the case of Hager Bros., which milks about 200 cows, the size of the German-made equipment is just about right for the volume of manure produced, said Kim Stevens, who has been working on the project for the farm since the fall of 2007. It would feed the electricity grid 2.5 megawatts, enough power for about 2,000 homes. She said some of the waste heat could be used to heat some of the farm's buildings or, as in the case of Bar-Way, heat greenhouses.

Although the digester could be fueled with manure alone, she said, food waste breaks down more easily, to make the system more efficient and cost-effective.

In addition to selling power to the grid, she said, the farm would receive tipping fees for the food waste, which would be coordinated by Vermont-based Casella Waste Systems. The organic waste, which could come from food processors, university dining halls and supermarkets, would be blended with the manure on a roughly 60-40 basis, she said.

The methane digesters cost more than $1 million a piece, said Kennedy, so additional funding will be sought from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and elsewhere.

Other grants

The grant, which actually goes to consultants SJH and Co. of Boston to work with the farms, was part of $125,000 worth of projects announced by the Department of Agricultural Resources. Among others was $22,400 to Fullflight Game Farm in Bernardston, for replacement of two existing outdoor wood hydronic heaters.

The high efficiency heaters are in compliance with Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection regulations that took effect last December, according to an Agricultural Resources press statement. They provide hot water for farm use, according to Kennedy.

According to its Web site, Fullflight provides pheasants, partridges and quail for game preserves and hunting clubs throughout the world, hatching and raising more than 250,000 birds a year.

Funding for the grants comes from the $1.7 billion Energy and Environment Bond Bill signed by Gov. Patrick in August 2008.