INSIDE RURAL DEVELOPMENT
USDA energy program
promotes ‘cow power’
By Peter Thomas,Administrator
Business and
Cooperative Programs
USDA Rural Development
nergy and the issues surrounding
it continue to
be a high priority for the
Bush Administration and
USDA. The recent passage
of the Energy Policy Act of 2005
emphasizes the importance the
President and Congress place on the
issue.
Rural Development has already
played a significant role within USDA
as a result of the 2002 Farm Bill and
the establishment of the Renewable
Energy Systems and Energy Efficiency
Improvements Program (also know as
the Section 9006 program). The funding
from this program assists rural
energy entrepreneurs in covering the
costs of setting up and running these
renewable energy systems and energy
efficiency improvement projects.
To better illustrate the goals of the
program, I’m going to focus on projects
which received grants through the
9006 program. In addition to the
grants, recent changes to the program
will allow USDA Rural Development
to offer guaranteed loans to qualifying
projects.
In Lodi, Calif., Castelanelli Brothers
Dairy received a $166,000 Section 9006
grant in fiscal 2003. The funds helped
the dairy farm establish a renewable
energy system which uses an anaerobic
digester to convert cow manure into
electricity. Anaerobic digestion is one of
the few treatment options of manure
that reduces the environmental impact
of manure and can potentially produce
savings and revenues.
A properly designed and operated
digester can biologically stabilize
organic wastes, reduce pathogens,
reduce odor and improve fertilizer
value, in addition to generating electricity
from the biogas produced from
digestion. It will produce 60,000 to
130,000 cubic feet gas daily, depending
on the season.
The manure from the farm’s 2,100
cows will produce 90 to 180 kilowatts.
Another bonus: after the water flows
out of the digester, it is stored and then
recycled to flush manure from the
barns, or used seasonally to fertilize
field crops and grapes.
With the assistance of a Section
9006 grant, the Dairyland Power
Cooperative in Elk Mound, Wis.,
installed its first anaerobic digester
“cow-power” facility. The new facility
is expected to generate 775 kilowatts of
renewable energy, capable of powering
600 homes throughout the four-state
area serviced. As is the case for all
anaerobic digesters, cow manure from
the dairy is collected and heated
in the digester tank, a process
that creates methane gas. This
biogas is used to generate electricity.
Gold Top Farms, a family farm
in Knox, Maine, was one of 167
recipients from 26 states to
receive program funding last year. The
farm was the first recipient from
Maine. The family received a $4,462
Section 9006 grant, which represented
25 percent of the project cost. The
funds were used to install three highvolume,
low-speed fans, saving 90,000
kilowatt hours annually. This resulted
in the farm saving around $8,000 a year
over the cost of operating existing 24
fans. The new high-efficiency fans lead
to energy efficiency, healthier livestock
and ultimately higher productivity.
I commend these farmers and other
project owners for taking advantage of
the Section 9006 program. They are
providing rural America with renewable
energy and making their own operations
more energy efficient. This has
resulted in cleaner energy and saved the
recipients money in the process.
These projects have also created
new jobs while injecting new capital
into rural communities. As America
looks for alternative energy, USDA
Rural Development will continue to
assist rural communities in taking
advantage of the new technologies and
innovations for nontraditional sources
of energy.
