Hillcrest Saylor dairy farm methane digester
Podcast about this project
Right-click to download the podcast.
How are the carbon offsets generated?
Anaerobic bacteria in the digester eat the cow manure, decomposing it and releasing methane gas as waste. The methane gas contained in the digester is then burned. Once the methane gas is captured and destroyed it can no longer significantly affect the climate.
Some carbon offset are created by the reduction in methane emissions made possible by “avoided lagoon” storage of manure. Methane is a very potent greenhouse gas and it is combusted in the generator before it reaches the atmosphere.
Some carbon offsets are generated by using waste heat from the generator to boil water, because fuel oil burned onsite for water heating is greatly reduced. By reducing the amount of fuel oil combusted CO2 emissions are avoided.
Read more about how carbon offsets are created
What is done with the processed manure?
Once the digested manure solids come out of the digester, they are used for bedding for the cows, saving the farm money. Digested manure liquids, which are essentially made odorless by the process, can be irrigated on nearby fields as natural fertilizer. Since this fertilizer is more easily absorbed by the plants and soil, the digester helps to reduce run off into local water ways, protecting aquatic ecosystems in the area.
How many different kinds of offsets are generated from this project?
Three. Offsets that are created from RECs, and two types of direct avoided GHG emissions: avoided methane release from manure lagoons and avoided carbon dioxide from displaced oil used to heat water on the farm. Only methane abatement offsets are in the BP portfolio.
How is this project additional?
The sale of offsets represented a considerable portion of the entire project cost and allowed Hillcrest Saylor to apply for and receive a Energy Harvest grant from the PA Department of Environmental Protection.
Read more about ‘additional’ carbon offsets
Photo credit: NativeEnergy
- Type
- Farm methane abatement
- Location
- Rockwood, PA
- Project by
- NativeEnergy
At Hillcrest Saylor Farm, innovation goes hand in hand with family tradition.
Shaun Saylor designed the digester for their dairy farm that now benefits the local and global environment and the future viability of this century old farm.
—NativeEnergy
