Dairy farm of the future will transform rural communities

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It was so encouraging to visit Spruce Haven Farm in Cayuga County NY and learn latest innovation in dairy technologies.  They are working with Cornell University, NY State, Federal and International companies in developing new agricultural practices to help fight Global warming and reduce green house gas emissions.

Spruce Haven farm is located in the Town of Fleming within Finger lakes, NY region. It offers the visitors great natural beauty and is the home for many Wineries. Its location  between Cayuga Lake and Owasco Lake is part of the watershed that drains into the lakes. Many dairy farms exist in this area and all of these businesses are looking to be a better neighbor and protect their local natural resources.

Unfortunately, algal growth is now affecting the recreational value of these lakes and pointing out the need to stop the discharge of nutrients such as Nitrogen and Phosphorous. Treatment of Manure from Dairies is a priority for protecting our water resources. Anaerobic digesters offer the technology for generating bio-gas energy as byproduct while providing treated effluent to apply on farm land to grow feed for the cows. News products such as natural organic fertilizer etc. can be made while controlling the feed to the cows to generate higher value milk to increase revenues for the Dairies.

I was happy to see that these farms now are looking to be the economic engine to drive local economy. They are striving for Happiness for everyone.

 Better days are ahead!

January 1 2015- A day to seek Energy Independence for all Consumers supporting Sustainability

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Last year 2014 was filled with progress with new energy generation initiatives and Environmental protection commitments made by Global Leaders. China and America led by setting goals and the rest of the world was made very aware by real Climate tragedies that denying climate change is now taken as a mark of Ignorance.
How can we and why should we waste time and energy on this debate?
Smart people will move forward with smart solutions and let the naysayers stand on the side lines.
Renewable energy is now the best Instrument of Peace to gain energy independence, which can now be seen as more installations of such systems are completed.
In New York State Wayne County based Town of Williamson took the lead by building 1.5 Mega Watts solar PV system on their closed landfill. Larsen Engineers assisted them in creating the long term sustainability plan and installing the large scale solar PV system to make 100% of their energy use at Municipal facilities.
So this Year the Town of Williamson, NY can celebrate the Energy Independence and motivate others to do the same. The ultimate economic benefit for the community is to fix the cost of power for next 40 years with savings of over 1 Million Dollars.
As the oil and gasoline prices go down below $2.00 they clearly prove the power of reducing consumption by the energy consumers. The seller of dirty fuels can not stop the consumers if they decide NOT to use oil based products. This is the time to resolve and ramp up the energy conservation and green power generation to further put pressure and keep the oil and gas price low.
Someday Oil will become irrelevant as we embrace Solar, Wind and Biomass power to replace the conventional dirty fuels. It can be done in 20 years if we all resolve today to take such actions.

Cow Power for Energy Independence in New York

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New York State leads the nation in yogurt production which depends on milk production. We are in top 3 milk producing states and farm businesses are key to our rural economy. With higher number of cows comes a lot of manure waste production and environmental concerns within the watershed. Urban population and neighbors complaint about odors created when manure is applied to farm land. The farm businesses also face high energy costs and wish to manage and control this expense. These problems were recognized and became the basis for NYS funding programs to help solve these problems and help in the economic development.

Climate change requires reduction in green house gas emissions to atmosphere and Methane from farms is know to be a problem that will soon require compliance with upcoming US EPA requirements. Similarly surface runoff from the farms is containing pollution in the form of organics and nutrients. Anaerobic digesters are ideal solution but costly to implement based on the price quotes from International companies and many German and Dutch companies are active in USA and have built the digesters at significantly high cost for those large farms that can afford it. Most studies have shown that small medium size farms are not in a position to afford it. This condition can be changed by adopting simple processes and using locally procured labor and materials.

We are happy to announce that this dream of an affordable digester has come true recently at Spruce Haven Dairy Farm in Cayuga county NY, where a 1.5 million gallon "lagoon based in- ground" digester and 500 KW co-generation system has been constructed within the NYSERDA grant budget of $2 Million Dollars. The system was started up in July 2014 and by September it was making more Bio gas than projected and the engine generator is consistently operating above 95% design capacity. This farm has over 2500 cows feeding the manure to the digester at a flow rate of about 100,000 GPD, including the flushing wash water from sand removal system.

A high efficiency digester built and operating successfully at a capital cost of under $800 per cow is great example for many dairy farms that in New York State it is now possible to solve your problems and become net energy producer by supplying excess power to the Grid.

The Farm in Cayuga County NY is open for field trips for other farmer to see the system and its operation. Energy and Environmental issues can be addressed with the financial help from NYSERDA and USDA as these businesses seek affordable solutions. Spruce Haven farm has achieved Energy Independence for their electric consumption by producing more energy than what they use. They look forward to making RNG- bio-fuel for the trucks by cleaning and compressing the bio gas as renewable transportation fuel in near future.

New Projects like this can help us meet the climate change goals for renewable energy and also help in economic development in rural America.

Green Construction Loans are Essential for Building Green Energy Projects

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Imagine getting a Reimbursable grant of  93% of the Capital cost and still unable to build the farm Anaerobic Digester system to treat waste and make green power. Unfortunately this is a reality in New York State.

Most of the lenders do not understand Digesters and have no risk tolerance for such technology when the grant is offered as collateral. So how do you get a construction loan? Where to go? These are the challenges why so many farmers who have the manure disposal problems can not take advantage of the Grants.

It looks like the Federal USDA is listening to these issues and establishing a large loan fund that can be used for building the system with 70% loan amount against 30% local loan and equity. This potential "USDA - REAP renewable energy funding assistance program"  could be extremely beneficial and capable of creating a wave of economic development across Rural America.

Let us hope this succeeds and soon rural communities and small businesses will be able to gain Energy Independence by building their own Green power generation systems.

Infrastructure investments by the federal Govt. in our communities are essential to replace war funding and create jobs back home so returning Vets can have a job making green energy.

Better days may be ahead for energy Independence at the rural Farms and communities.

Thanksgiving to New Year 2014 - a time for Sustainable Green Celebrations

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Thanksgiving is now over and we quickly move to Christmas Holidays and Welcoming the New Year 2014.
 when you look back we are thankful that the Hurricane season spared the worst for people living along the Ocean front communities.

We are thankful for the largest growth in Solar PV Renewable energy installations in America and rest of the World. New York State plans to install $500 million dollars worth of solar PV in 2014.

We are excited about the prospects of New York leading the Green Projects as the State supports the use of Green fuels such as BioCNG or RNG in transportation sector.

We look forward to communities partnering with Farm businesses to convert cow manure and food waste into bio-gas and converting this gas in to Compressed natural gas for use on Trucks and fleets with huge savings by replacing diesel fuel and cleaning the air.

The holiday lighting will see lot more use of LED lights that saves money and lasts a lot longer.

Well! Green is now more accepted as we point out the monetary savings and mention environmental benefits as frosting on the cake for the conservative thinkers.

Better days are ahead. Let us celebrate what has been achieved and seek higher levels of success in building sustainable Green Communities and gain Energy Independence.

Happy Holidays!

Green Energy from Biomass? What would be a fair Definition?

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New York State is eager to grow the green energy generation and has many incentives to encourage new solar, wind and biomass to energy programs.

When it comes to organic waste to energy using anaerobic digester, the definition of green energy is only restricted to 50% or more cow manure used for making bio-gas. This is unfair to other projects that use human waste or food processing waste as raw material for digestion.

Hopefully this narrow definition will change soon so many other projects can benefit from the incentives and improve their returns on investment. The time is now if we want to see progress and develop sustainable green communities.

The goal of net-zero energy and energy independence can be reached with broader definition when waste materials are sources as feed to the digesters.

What are we willing to pay for Energy Independence?

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Climate change and Global warming are getting more accepted by people and there is willingness to take action to prevent future problems. There are now incentives available in New York State to help generate Green power with Solar PV and  farm waste digestion. These measures are good for the environment but sometime financially challenging to justify the investment.

Review of past movements related to freedom and independence clearly indicate the suffering and hardship by the people who supported it. It was the common good that prevailed and inspired the action.

Energy Independence should be the same for better long term results. If the cost is marginally higher today but cheaper in future then we should be willing to make this sacrifice or investment for the better future for next generation.
However, in reality people are willing to do it if it saves money TODAY.

It will take leadership and better communication of the dangers of inaction to increase greater participation. NY State is giving a positive push to this effort by including Green funding in the Development plan starting in 2013.
This will allow us to take a lead in this area as compared to rest of USA.

The Governor of  New York State should be congratulated for taking some bold action on promoting Green under the New York Rising program.

New York announces funding incentives to dairy farmers to produce renewable power from waste

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December 26th was a great day for New York dairy farmers or food processing plants as NYSERDA, an agency announced their program opportunity notice PON 2684. approx 29 million dollars are available on "First come first served" basis to applicants with max grant of 2 million dollars each.
Many smart farmers will take action fast to solve their waste disposal and energy problem by building anaerobic digesters and cogen system fired by biogas. Energy produced from their waste can now power the dairy farm and make them energy independent. The grant incentive will enable these farmers to require lower capital and improve the economic feasibility of the project.
Early bird catches the worm. Do not wait too long. Apply now because by February the money will be gone.

Energy Highway to help economic growth in New York State

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Last week NYS Governor Cuomo announced a program to seek input for a proposed Energy Highway in the State for powering the needs of our communities. This is in response to the shortages of power in some areas where the power grid is deficient to carry power from the remote power generation sources.Enhancing existing or building new transmission lines to the point of demand is obviously the main objective. In addition, New York should give serious consideration to distributed energy generation options.
Incentives to produce Green power via Solar, Wind and Biogas digesters can help expand clean energy supply, make the producers economically stronger and reduce the need for remotely generated power.
New York has a very large base of Farms where food is produced and many food processing plants make packages for our communities. These businesses create jobs and are seriously affected by the cost of energy and environmental issues. Helping this business sector with self produced green energy will save money, help our economy and save the environment.
We are happy to see our Leaders take steps to implement these innovative solutions.
Ram

Biofuel is a better choice for excess biogas at Farms

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The auto fuel cost is reaching new highs just like our hot weather sets new records.
At the same time natural gas prices are subject to surplus supply and keeping it low.
The sustainable green solution for the dairy farms is to build the digesters and process their manure and some imported food processing waste.This concept will generate more biogas and result in larger power generation potential. Once the amount of power produced equals the usage at farm, they are energy independent. It is not economically attractive to make excess power.This scenario offers perfect opportunity to compress the excess gas and convert it to bio-CNG for vehicle fuel which offers better returns. Unfortunately this option requires large capital expense, so many smaller farms need to combine their excess gas for centralized cleaning and biofuel production. County Governments can play a key role in this area by providing low cost long term loans to help in construction. All of their public works vehicle would benefit with low cost fuel after conversion to CNG fuel.
DOE can and should help implement this option in all counties that have large number of dairy farms.
This is the time for our Federal and State Governments to take the lead and help utilize this great opportunity for dairy waste to be converted to biofuel.

Green Energy Tax Credits ending Tonight. Future?

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People who are interested in generating Green power are promised a 30% tax credit on project cost as long as project began in 2011. Many Farms, businesses and institutions are signing contracts before the end of this year to lock in the tax credits. The amount of this incentive could be very large. For example a farmer building the digester and bio gas energy generation system at 2.5 million dollar cost could be entitled to $750,000 tax credit. If other grant incentives are available then 50% of the cost may be covered from State energy and USDA grants.

These projects become feasible if lending institutions or Economic Development loans are available to pay for upfront costs and make the project a smart investment for the Farmer.

Losing the 30% tax starting next year is a big setback to the sustainability and Green programs. Please let the politicians know that extending these credits is a critical investment in America's future.

In the past, America has dumped Billions of Dollars in Foreign wars on weapons and human capital. This must end with the new energy independence war that invests money in America to help American businesses.In the end the oil is replaced with local green power,local jobs are retained and environment is protected. Win-Win is much better than wasting money on protecting the enemy interests because we buy oil from them.

Let us hope that the new Government in 2012 would make smart move and embark on the war for energy independence. By July 4th,2020 we could be free from importing oil.

Dairy Farmers Need Help to Produce Green Power

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Participated in a seminar last week where farmers were informed about new EPA Air Quality regulations.The potential impact on these business could be very serious and most expressed their fear of losing the business.Greenhouse gas emmissions caused by Methane is the target issue.
Common question was how can the Federal government do this? Farming has been generational family business and now this law can put them out of business.This naturally produced gas by Animal digestive process or manure digestion is both a problem and a resource. It is not practical to control emmissions from cows but manure is proven to be a valuable resource to produce biogas and green power. The farms now need long term low interest financing to build the necessary digestion and power generation system. When EPA comes with Air Emmission standards it should accompany funding from USDA to help them build what can help solve the problem. A Green revolving loan tax free Bond fund is essential to keep these hard working family and businesses retain jobs in America. Our economy is too weak to kill it with new regulation but no funding to help solve the problem. The States with large dairy farms should take action now to deal with Fedral EPA regulations.
Our leaders should be made aware of thes issues in New York State.

Making money at Dairy Farms via Waste to Energy

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Happy to note that my article on dairy waste management was published in June issue of Manure Manager Magazine.
Dairy Farms are facing environmental issues while they have a valuable bio-energy resource in the form of cow manure. Perfect example of how a liability can be converted to an asset by anaerobically digesting this waste to make biogas.
Read more on the following link:
http://www.manuremanager.com/content/view/3777/132/

Hydrofracking versus Biogas Power

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In New York this weekend, The State released the report from NYSDEC allowing hydrofracking in some areas of the shale deposits at over 2000 ft below ground. The Oil and Gas industry plans to capture the natural gas and serve our energy needs for centuries. The promise of economic development is attractive to businesses and local communities.
While we look for energy solutions deep in the ground, a perfectly natural energy solution is waiting on the ground to get the attention of public officials. This solution is based on biogas which is equal to 60% natural gas and is sustainable forever, as long as we have cows and organic good waste to feed the anaerobic digesters.
All Gas wells deep in the ground, will run out of gas some day and leave an abandoned mark on the ground. Our Farms serve our local communities and their economic survival is based on economic value. Building anaerobic digesters and producing biogas based energy will solve odor and environmental problems while giving them their own energy and cash savings.
So let us focus on manure and organic waste energy and first convert it to serve us without any oil and gas company involvement. A consumer can now make their own energy and be the producer. This will be true energy independence!
The dream is worth investing our resources in it. Better days are ahead.
Ram