Right Lane Cruiser
08-03-2009, 08:06 AM
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/2/AmericanFlag.jpg "So you're talking about system project costs of over a million dollars to build the system but a payback of five years or less." (http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/07/31/cow.power/index.html)
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/501/20070528_cow.jpgAyesha Tejpar - CNN (http://www.cnn.com) - July 31, 2009
Now this is innovative! --Ed.
ROCKWOOD, Pennsylvania -- Four generations of Saylors have worked the family's dairy farm for nearly a century, but for the past three years, the cows have been doing something besides providing milk: They've been helping power the place.
Growing up on the sprawling spread 90 minutes from Pittsburgh, 36-year-old farmer Shawn Saylor developed into a self-described science buff.
So it was no surprise that, when faced with rising energy costs, Saylor turned to technology.
He tapped into an abundant and easily accessible energy source: manure from about 600 cows.
"It's a pretty simple process. There's not really a lot to it," Saylor said. "Manure comes from the cows, and there's energy left in the manure."
The process is known as anaerobic digestion, and here's how it works:
With the help of a mechanical scraper in the barn, manure drops into a 19,000-gallon tank. The slurry then moves into the digester, which is 16 feet deep and 70 feet in diameter. It's heated there for about 16 days while the bacteria break down the organic matter in order to produce methane gas. That gas is burned in two engine generators to make electricity.
Heat created by the generators keeps the digester hot, heats the buildings around the farm and helps provide hot water.
The electricity is used to power this farm and a dozen neighboring homes, Saylor said. And there's still some left over, which he sells back to the grid.
Overall, the poo power helps Saylor's bottom line.
"In savings, there's $200,000 a year, in either extra income from... http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/07/31/cow.power/index.html
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/501/20070528_cow.jpgAyesha Tejpar - CNN (http://www.cnn.com) - July 31, 2009
Now this is innovative! --Ed.
ROCKWOOD, Pennsylvania -- Four generations of Saylors have worked the family's dairy farm for nearly a century, but for the past three years, the cows have been doing something besides providing milk: They've been helping power the place.
Growing up on the sprawling spread 90 minutes from Pittsburgh, 36-year-old farmer Shawn Saylor developed into a self-described science buff.
So it was no surprise that, when faced with rising energy costs, Saylor turned to technology.
He tapped into an abundant and easily accessible energy source: manure from about 600 cows.
"It's a pretty simple process. There's not really a lot to it," Saylor said. "Manure comes from the cows, and there's energy left in the manure."
The process is known as anaerobic digestion, and here's how it works:
With the help of a mechanical scraper in the barn, manure drops into a 19,000-gallon tank. The slurry then moves into the digester, which is 16 feet deep and 70 feet in diameter. It's heated there for about 16 days while the bacteria break down the organic matter in order to produce methane gas. That gas is burned in two engine generators to make electricity.
Heat created by the generators keeps the digester hot, heats the buildings around the farm and helps provide hot water.
The electricity is used to power this farm and a dozen neighboring homes, Saylor said. And there's still some left over, which he sells back to the grid.
Overall, the poo power helps Saylor's bottom line.
"In savings, there's $200,000 a year, in either extra income from... http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/07/31/cow.power/index.html