Cow manure, potato scraps to power farm, homes

[Fledermaus]

The idea, says Jacques Laforge, was to make his small dairy farm completely self-sufficient.

That's what first led the farmer, who owns some 200 head of cattle on a farm in St. André just north of Grand Falls, to consider turning manure and potato scraps into electricity.

The scraps would come from the McCain Foods plant in Grand Falls, which currently trucks them to a landfill.

The manure, obviously, would come from the cows - from Laforge Holstein Ltd. and, eventually, other dairy farmers.

The result is a unique project - the first of its kind in Atlantic Canada - and a prototype for small-scale green energy projects that could eventually span the province.

Once complete, the facility, dubbed Laforge Bioenvironmental Inc., will produce 2.5 million kilowatt-hours of low-carbon electricity each year, enough to power the farm and another 200 homes, Laforge said.

The system will also create liquid fertilizer to cover roughly 8,000 acres of land, he said.

http://telegraphjournal.canadaeast.com/front/article/976501

[kestrel91316]

1. Yay! Good plan.

[Blue Owl]

2. Hell, we could power the nation using GOP bullshit these days

If only someone could harnass the steam coming off that big stinkpile...

[old mark]

3. IIRC, they have been doing this and variations of it in India for decades. nt