HomeMy WebLinkAboutLucknow Sentinel, 2009-03-18, Page 9Lucknow Sentinel, Wednesday, March 18, 2009 - Page 9
Methane technology could be a big cost saver for local farmers
BY TROY
PA ON
Kincardine News
Staff
Local farmers
could see some
major cost sav-
ings from grow-
ing methane tech-
nology, but the
biggest challenge
is the price.
With larger
projects carrying
a price tag of
about $1.5 mil-
lion, the technolo-
gy is not yet cost-
effective for
smaller uses.
But a project
could start to pay
for itself "through
the disposal of
organic waste and
cutting back on
landfill costs,
while using the
electricity and
heat it generates
to subsidize other
expenses associat-
ed with farming.
Clare Riepma,
president of the
St. Catherines-
based Biogas
Solutions, gave a
rundown on the
concept at the
Walker: !louse
Museum last
Thursday as a
guest of the.
recently -formed
Municipality of
Kincardine
Environmental
Advisory.
Committee.
Riepma out-
lined the benefits
and advantages of
the Anaerobic
Methane Digester
technology that
has only been
established in
Canada since
2006, but took off
in Germany about
15 year ago.
"We've got our
financial future
staked on it," said
Riepma, adding
about six plants
are currently
operational. •
Committee
members invited
Riepma to; pro-
vide information
to those in atten-
dance who may be
interested in bio-
gas/methane tech-
nologies. They
also wanted to
look into the via-
bility of the con-
cept as part of
waste ,.diversion
efforts to extend
the capacities and
cut costs at local
landfills.
The technology
uses a 250 -kilo -
'watt anaerobic
(without oxygen)
cattle or chicken
manure, crop
silage andalmost
any `green' plant
or organic materi-
al can be used,
from grass clip-
pings to the inva-
sive phragmites
grass that plagues
the southern
beaches of
Kincardine and
Huron -Kinloss:
The company's
Cheese and Butter
Co-op owner Bill
Rutledge listened
to Riepma's pres-
entation and said
he's interested in
finding out more
on the viability of
the project for his
business.
"It's in the very
preliminary
stages, but from
what . 'm seeing
it's definitely.
advantages with
the technology
and its base -load
electricity pro-
duction abilities:
They're pro-
moting the tech-
nology in large-
scale agricultural
operations like
livestock produc-
tion, with their
next project set to
build at a dairy
farm. The heat
will be used in the
farmer's home,
milking parlour
and barn.
Riepma said the
government is
also in support of
their work with
the new
Green?Energy
Act.
Ruth MacDonald, Broker
Office 519-.396-7884
Kincardine Branch Office 1-888-995-0374
-www. RealEstateKincardine.com "'t'@rt(wnce.oan ..
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SundaMach22,1
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digester to pro-
duce
ro-
duce ' enough
methane through
'green wastes' to
fuel an engine,
which produces
both . heat and
electricity as , by-
products. The
methane : 'con-
tained in the
'fuel' usually goes
to waste in a land-
*fill or is ' emitted
into the atmos-
phere.
Riepma said_ the
sealed vessels
brew the fuel at
38 degrees
Celsius for about
two weeks until
methane . produc-
tion begins.
Fuel must be
added every hour
and .can produce
methane for
between 30 and
100 days, depend-
ing on the waste
used. Steady sup-
pliers must also
be secured in
order for the proj-
ect to be success-
ful.
Waste like pig,
technology is
being used for a
project near
Niagara Falls,
where , grape
pumice Is being
used as fuel for
heat and electrici-
ty needs in their
greenhouses.
Another in .the
same region is
using expired dog
kibble for similar
uses.
"They're saving
about $200,000 in
dumping costs
eachyear," he
said. "It offsets.
their heating costs
and they can sell
whatever surplus
electricity they
produce to the
grid." •
Once the*
`digestate' reach-
es . the end of its
cycle, any weed -
seeds or
pathogens are
killed, making it a
high-quality liq-
uid manure that
can be sold to area
farmers.
Pine River
Methane Digester
worth taking a
look into," he.
said. "Green ener-
gy is great, 'abut
you needa feasi-
bility study to
determine what
kind of return
you're going to
get on it before
the investment
goes any further."
Riepma said
Pine River Cheese
would be a good
fit to dispose of
their whey and
other organic mat-
ter, while offset-
ting electricity
and • disposal
costs.
Committee
chair • Janice
McKean said
although.- it may
not be financially
viable for the
municipality, they
would recom-
mend a partner-
ship to dispose of
green waste with
a farm or .compa-
ny like Pine River
Cheese..
Riepma said
they have many
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"It's just start-
M9NTE E
ing, but there's
huge interest in
it, Riepma said.
For more infor-
mation visit.
www.planet-bio-
gas.ca, e-mail
c.riepma@planet-
biogas.ca or call
905-935-1969.
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