By Corinna Clendenen, Civil Eats
August 25, 2014
How much would you pay to convert manure to electricity? What if you could power your home and workplace, make fertilizer, keep organic waste out of the landfill, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and sell excess energy to the local grid?
To transform guilt into virtue, is $3.1 million too much?
Today’s ranchers and farmers stand accused: The placid cow leaves an enormous carbon hoofprint. Its manure releases methane, a greenhouse gas so potent it makes carbon dioxide seem like a breath of fresh air. But the good news is methane is also a combustible fuel and the anaerobic digester is helping farmers convert this dangerous gas into a power source.