Huckabay Ridge, a manure-to-natural gas facility, opened for business Monday in what will be the First of many similar projects for New Hampshire based Environmental Power Corporation.
Known as the country’s largest methane-to-gas plant. Huckabay Ridge generates the renewable energy each day from some 200 tons of manure it takes off the hands of local dairy farmers that have in recent years come under attack for manure runoff.
Huckabay Ridge signed a contract with Pacific Gas and Electric Corp. to begin selling the utility natural gas next fall. The contract is a part to increase renewable energy to 20 percent of its portfolio by 2020 as mandated by the California law.
The place where the plant is located, is home to 52000 dairy cows. Local dairy farmers can dump their manure at the plant for free, but pay for transport. That’s a good deal for an industry that has faced previous litigation over manure runoff. Dairy cows produce more about 140 pounds of manure each day.
The manure is mixed with water and restaurant grease before going into digester tanks where the bacteria generates the methane gas during feeding. The gas is purified before distribution through a pipeline. The Texas Department of Transportation buys this by-product as compost.
Methane remains in the atmosphere for up to 15 years and is more than 20 times more effective than carbon dioxide in trapping heat in the atmosphere.
Known as the country’s largest methane-to-gas plant. Huckabay Ridge generates the renewable energy each day from some 200 tons of manure it takes off the hands of local dairy farmers that have in recent years come under attack for manure runoff.
Huckabay Ridge signed a contract with Pacific Gas and Electric Corp. to begin selling the utility natural gas next fall. The contract is a part to increase renewable energy to 20 percent of its portfolio by 2020 as mandated by the California law.
The place where the plant is located, is home to 52000 dairy cows. Local dairy farmers can dump their manure at the plant for free, but pay for transport. That’s a good deal for an industry that has faced previous litigation over manure runoff. Dairy cows produce more about 140 pounds of manure each day.
The manure is mixed with water and restaurant grease before going into digester tanks where the bacteria generates the methane gas during feeding. The gas is purified before distribution through a pipeline. The Texas Department of Transportation buys this by-product as compost.
Methane remains in the atmosphere for up to 15 years and is more than 20 times more effective than carbon dioxide in trapping heat in the atmosphere.
Diego Van Assche
ec.europa.eu/environment/index_en
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