Manure Manager

News
Washington dairy project to address climate change


April 8, 2011  by Manure Manager

April 8, 2011, South Burlington, VT – A project in
Washington State will support local dairy farms and reduce approximately 4,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions per year.

April 8, 2011, South Burlington, VT – A project in
Washington State will support local dairy farms and reduce approximately 4,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions per year.

eBay, Stonyfield Farm, Brita, and Effect Partners are enabling this project through the purchase of NativeEnergy’s Help Build™ carbon offsets.
Conventionally, manure storage on dairy farms results in the release of methane into the atmosphere. The Rainier Farm biogas project in Enumclaw, WA, will avoid this pollution through the construction of a manure digester.

Three family-owned farms will feed their manure to the sealed, heated system. None of the farms is large enough to support a digester by itself but, through collaboration, they can jointly support it. The digester will capture and burn the methane to produce electricity in a one-megawatt electric generator, which will deliver renewable energy to the region’s electrical grid.

Advertisement

The developer, Rainier Biogas LLC, approached NativeEnergy to help provide financing for the project. By selling the carbon reductions resulting from the digester, NativeEnergy was able to provide upfront funding for construction. Through NativeEnergy’s Help Build carbon offsets, eBay, Stonyfield Farm, Brita, and Effect Partners were able to purchase a share of the verified emissions reductions that the project will produce over a 10-year period.

“Everyone in the community will benefit from this project,” said Kevin Maas of Rainier Biogas. “It will reduce greenhouse gas emissions, protect the area’s sensitive rivers and streams, and provide low-cost bedding for local farmers.”

Advertisement

Stories continue below

Print this page

Related