On the farm, a back-end solution to an energy crisis (Canada)

[jpak]

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20080721.FARMS21/TPStory/TPNational/Ontario/

ILDERTON, ONT. -- The hundreds of black and white Holstein cows milling about the barn at Laurie Stanton's dairy farm may not look like a valuable source of energy, but each animal on the hoof has a lot of potential.

In the search for a way to deal with the vast quantity of manure his big herd generates and to do something useful with it, Mr. Stanton, a third-generation dairy farmer, had a quirky idea: why not try to turn the dung into a valuable commodity, like electricity?

Later this summer, Ontario electricity consumers will start using power that Mr. Stanton's herd will contribute to the provincial grid. Each of his cows is expected to produce enough manure to keep three 50-watt light bulbs constantly illuminated.

The sprawling dairy operation, located near London, Ont., is poised to become the largest source of farm-biogas-derived electricity in Canada, with its cow manure turned into methane, the active ingredient in natural gas, and burned in a miniature power plant to produce electricity.

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