Cow Power [Amazing]

The Green Mountain Dairy farm in Sheldon, Vt., like all dairy farms, is in the business of producing milk. But the farm is also part of a growing alternative energy program that converts the methane gas from cow manure into electricity.

It became one of four in the state that participate in a program with the Central Vermont Public Service. The power the farm generates is sold back to the utility.

When milk prices dipped, Bill Rowell, left, and his brother Brian decided to use the alternative energy program as another source of income.

In the barn, a mechanical scraper sweeps the cows’ waste into a large drain.

The gases are burned in an engine that runs an electrical generator. The waste produces 250 to 300 kilowatts of electricity daily, enough to power 300 to 350 homes, according to the utility.

Mr. Rowell and his brother said the farm earned about $200,000 from electricity annually. Electrical customers that prefer to use power that is both renewable and supports local farmers pay a small premium for the energy produced at the dairy.

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plz give me the feasibility of your farm
[...] Bill Rowell, a VT CAFO owner who has partnered with Cow Power, spoke about his decision to choose a methane digester, his experiences with it and his view that large farms such as his is essential to the production of food for a growing world. Methane digesters, in his opinion, take care of the pollution and odor problems of large operations, removes noxious gasses such as hydrogen sulfide and provide byproducts to sell such as electric power, and dried manure solids for bedding or composting. [...]
daer i see your site that is very nice and good pls if passibel you send me map or desain to me i wanan make for 50 cow i have thanks
naser jahangiri
Very good
Hi I do not speak English very well I am from Kosovo Cena Adonis I like your farm more interesting as you saw you are a very inteligent.Do to feel proud to be on your farm are also open a farm in Kosovo (Orahovac) is as a new state in Europe the conditions are not very good for early we need help from external donors as you do at least 20 cow farm but we have completed the conditions to be bought cow can not know with believed in these sentences but we also have pictures of holding that there is possibility of assistance to us as beginners you can wholeheartedly thanked and respected church