Farmer Saves $200,000 with Poo Power
A Pennsylvania farmer is powering his family’s dairy farm with something that you’ll find a lot on a farm: animal poo. Shawn Saylor, 36, is a self-described science buff. So when faced with skyrocketing energy costs, Saylor turned to technology.
He’s using manure from the 600 cows on his farm to generate $200,000 each year in savings. The million-dollar system paid for itself in 5 years. The electricity powers his farm and a dozen neighboring homes. And there’s enough left over to sell back to the grid.
“It’s a pretty simple process,” Saylor said. “Manure comes from the cows, and there’s energy left in the manure.” The process is known as anaerobic digestion. A mechanical scraper in the barn pushes the manure into a 19,000-gallon tank. The poo slurry then moves into the digester, which is 70 feet in diameter and 16 feet deep. It’s heated there for about 16 days, during which bacteria breaks down the organic matter and produces methane gas. The gas is then burned in two engine generators to make electricity. Also, heat from the generators keeps the digester hot, heats the farm buildings and provides hot water.
There’s another huge benefit. The digesters reduce the poo stink by 98%. “The farm used to get a lot of complaints from motorists, which is understandable. It used to stink a lot,” Saylor said.
It’s this type of innovation that will help remake America. We’re using a substance — in this case poo — which is essentially a free byproduct of a manufacturing process, and using it to generate electricity, which in turn powers the entire manufacturing process. Call it a green cycle of energy.