News
Biofuels advance: cow power carries California milk to market

Feb. 10, 2009 – Two heavy-duty trucks normally powered by  diesel fuel have been
converted to run on clean-burning biomethane produced  from cow manure
at Hilarides Dairy (Lindsay, Calif.)

First U.S. Cow-Powered Milk Truck Debuts at World Ag Expo

WHAT: First U.S. milk delivery truck powered by biomethane made from cow manure.

This innovative biofuel is:

• Renewable energy produced from local  material (replacing diesel or natural gas);
• Carbon-negative (fuel production captures  methane);
• High net energy yielding (far more efficient  than corn);
• Produced from manure, not food crops (hence  bypasses food/fueltrade-off). 

WHEN: Wednesday, February 11,  2009 at 1:30p.m. (presentation and Q&A)

WHERE: World Ag Expo –  Dairy Pavilion – Exhibit Space #DS-31.
    Tulare,  California (From Highway 99, take Avenue 200 exit; follow signs.)

WHO: Partners in the  project are:
    Rob Hilarides, owner, Hilarides Dairy
    U.S.  Environmental Protection Agency
    Western United Resource Development, Inc.
    Western United Dairymen Sustainable Conservation
    California Air  Resources Board
    CalStart
    California Department of Food and  Agriculture
    Hilmar Cheese Company
    Kustom Products
    Phase 3  Renewables
    University of California, Davis

Background
Two heavy-duty trucks normally powered by  diesel fuel have been converted to run on clean-burning biomethane produced  from cow manure at Hilarides Dairy (Lindsay, Calif.). This break-through came  from a public-private partnership which aims to develop a new model for  replacing diesel fuel with renewable biomethane — generated from agricultural  sources such as food processing and dairy waste.
The benefits include:

• Reduced global warming emissions since  methane is a potent greenhouse gas (21 times more potent than CO2), and  this system traps and destroys methane
•     from cow manure.
• Reduced air pollution from diesel  emissions, which is especially critical in California’s San Joaquin Valley  where air quality is among the worst in the nation. 
• Reduced dependence on fossil fuels, which  are largely imported from outside the U.S. and which entail significant  environmental impacts to drill and refine. 
• Reduced infrastructure needs and costs,  since fuel production takes place near the source of the feedstock  material and the end users.
• Promotes energy self-sufficiency on farms.

The World Ag Expo is the world’s largest annual  agricultural exposition, with 2.6 million square feet of exhibit space, more  than 1,600 exhibitors and an estimated 100,000 attendees.