No BS: Cow-sourced methane power in California
Photo by foxypar4. Licensed under Creative Commons license 2.0.
Biodiesel made from pigs. Using methane to make gas. Getting hydrogen from cow plop. Using waste, some from animals, to generate power is not a new idea. In California, though, methane captured from cow manure is being used to created power that people are using today. This is real, it's happening, and I want to drive an EV powered this way.
The Vintage Dairy Biogas Project, built by BioEnergy Solutions, might soon power up to 1,200 homes around Riverdale, CA that get their energy from PG&E. Considering that Vintage Dairy has 5,000 cows, that's about four cows to power one home. Not bad. California rules state that 20 percent of the electricity generated in California needs to come from renewable sources by 2010. PG&E says that it's already at 14 percent. There are almost two million diary cows in California and other farmers are interested in using their methane to generate power. The potential is enormous.
[Source: Reuters / Nichola Groom]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
rgseidl 5:01PM (3/05/2008)
Of course, if the biogas is scrubbed of H2S and upgraded to 97% pure methane, farm co-ops can feed that into the NG pipeline grid. You fill up your CNG or ANG vehicle somewhere else with an equivalent amount and drive into the sunset. The CO2 stripped out during upgrading can even be used to intensify the yield of a nearby algal oil farm.
Granted, California doesn't have all that much in the way of NG pipelines right now but that's not an insurmountable obstacle. The on-board technology of NGVs is both more mature and far cheaper than that required for E-REVs and BEVs with comparable range and performance.
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nycskp 10:15AM (6/01/2009)
This project scrubs the gas and feeds it into the PG&E Pipeline network for all to use.
Carlos Ferreira 5:18PM (3/05/2008)
Yes, but will your exhaust fumes stink? :)
Carlos Ferreira
http://www.greencarvalue.blogspot.com
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rgseidl 6:05PM (3/05/2008)
@ Carlos -
no, in fact just like fossil NG, biomethane must be odorized before injecting it into the grid. This is a safety measure to help detect leaks in the system.
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tark 10:32PM (3/05/2008)
Can't believe this is taking so long! My 1st job as an apprentice electrician in 1980 was installing a generator to try and use the gas from the human waste at the local hyperion plant.
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David Fox 11:49PM (3/05/2008)
sadly though they won't be happy looking cows like the one pictured.
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Jason 12:49AM (3/06/2008)
Great article and good job California! Now west Texas needs to do the same thing they've got a whole lot of cows.
http://www.EcoInsomniac.com
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Amanda 11:10AM (3/06/2008)
Has anyone seen the Toyota commercial with the cows hooked up to "gas trapping" tubes? Just currious, how will the methane be captured? Will the cows be allowed to range freely?
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Kook43 11:29AM (3/06/2008)
Intrepid Technology and Resources IESV:OB has developed a "hi-rate" holding period of 8 days. Speeds the gas production process vs. regular holding pits.
http://www.intrepid21.com/biogas.htm
Thought it was a great idea many years ago to use "natural gas" for industrial use. Heck native americans burned buffalo chips for heat.
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jake 1:01PM (3/06/2008)
@Amanda
It's from cow manure and not from their farts. It would be too difficult to collect using other methods.
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James Kean 1:45PM (3/16/2008)
I would like to know how to build a slurry digester for cow slurry / plop to produce methane for electricity generation
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