Cow Poop for Kilowatts

A well-read commenter submits this summary [PDF alert!] of a 2002 report on the Haubenschild Dairy Farm anaerobic digester near Princeton, Minnesota. In 1999, the dairy installed an anaerobic digester to capture methane from its cows and turn it into electricity. With 700 cows pooping prodigiously, the dairy was able to generate enough electricity to power all of its own operations and 75 additional homes, and there was still methane to burn. 4.0 kilowatt-hours per cow per day (would that be "cowlowatts"?), and it appears the system was set to pay for itself in five years. Another article from 2001 notes that this system provides superior odor control and renders the manure into even better condition for use as fertilizer. The dairy has also experimented with running a hydrogen fuel cell on biogas.

Some readers have expressed the opinion that large-scale feedlots and the further industrialization of agriculture are inevitable. If they are, we need to look into practices like those adopted by the Haubenschild Dairy Farm to make the best out of a business that doesn't have to be so dirty and messy. And when projects like an anaerobic digester can be good for the earth and the bottom line, why not?