Sen. Kennedy Leads Development of ‘Cow Power’.
From The Office of Senator Ted Kennedy: Connecticut’s dairy farmers could soon become the newest alternative energy producers, thanks to an innovative “Cow Power” initiative promoted by State Senator Ted Kennedy, Jr., Co-Chair of the General Assembly’s Environment Committee.
Passing unanimously out of the Committee, the Cow Power bill, SB 999, promotes the use of cow manure as a renewable energy source through the process of anaerobic digestion.
“‘Cow Power’ is a term for the conversion of cow manure into electricity, enabling farmers to make money by adding a new, desperately-needed source of farm revenue,” said Senator Kennedy.
This can allow farmers to assign surplus energy production from their generator to other metered accounts at retail, not lower wholesale, prices.
“Farm-based anaerobic digesters now number over 250 nationwide and have already become significant sources of electricity in places such as Lancaster County, PA and Vermont.
In addition to becoming a valuable and diversified source of electricity, anaerobic digesters solve many other problems, such as eliminating farm odor, reducing manure-based water pollution, and creating a by-product that is non-toxic and pathogen-free that can be used or sold as animal bedding or fertilizer,” said Senator Kennedy.
“We need to cut through the red tape, streamlining and simplifying Connecticut’s permitting process to accelerate this technology and save our farms.” SB 999, which will initially establish a pilot program for 3 farms in Connecticut, is welcome news for Connecticut’s farmers.
“In addition to generating electricity, installing agricultural anaerobic digesters destroys methane and reduces overall carbon emissions, making it outperform other Zero-Rec emitting technologies.” The goal of the pilot program is also to identify the best technologies, examine economic risks, and modernize Connecticut’s future digester permitting pathway.
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