Dairy digesters benefit supply chain, local community
In New York state, two dairy processing plants that turn waste into energy (biogas), have created enough renewable energy to heat about 2,600 typical homes in the Northeast for one year.
Communities, industries, businesses and consumers are seeking options to incorporate renewable energy for many reasons, whether it is to offset the rising cost of fossil fuels, to be energy independent or to reduce the strain of a growing population depleting finite resources.
The dairy industry has a unique opportunity to capitalize on this demand by creating its own renewable energy source. Those in the dairy industry may already be familiar with the concept of anaerobic digestion, where methane from cow manure is captured and combusted to produce valuable by-products such as electricity and compressed natural gas (CNG). The by-products are typically used on-farm, but the excess can be sold as renewable energy for use by the greater community.