When the mayor here considered generating power from his farm north of Goldstone several years ago, he rejected wind turbines in favour of biogas power production.
To Bruce Whale, the anaerobid digestive system was more sustainable he said in an interview earlier this year.
On March 23, an enthusiastic Minister of Agriculture toured the biogas project that will soon be operating at the farm, and he heard much enthusiasm from people who believe the biogas industry will be able to solve a number of problems for cities and rural areas – and not upset the neighbours, either.
Bruce’s son Korb, a civil engineer, returned to the family farm of 475 acres and 150 milking cows and lot of crops a dozen years ago. He said in an interview in order to get the project running the family had to spend $1 million by 2010 in the technology that can create electricity from methane gas produced by cattle.
The project received a grant from the province worth 40 per cent of that cost, and “Without a grant to start, the price they’re paying now is marginal. You’d have to sharpen your pencil.”
What the grant did is help to build two 1,000 cubic meter tanks that are 24 feet high and seven feet into the ground.
The idea behind the biogas project is cattle. Cows produce lots of methane gas every day. That gas can replace natural gas. Some have blamed methane gas as a big factor in global warming.
The biogas tanks act like a cow’s stomach would, and produce gas collected in a bubble above the tank. That is routed to electrical generators that run to create electricity.
There are huge advantages to that system, the Whales believe.
One complaint about solar and wind turbines is the need for sunshine and wind, and neither are reliable at night or when the wind dies. Biogas generators can be started and stopped according to when hydro is needed. The gas, unlike electricity powered from turbines or solar panels, can be stored.
Ontario recently spent hundreds of thousands of dollars paying places outside the province to take Ontario’s excess electricity – payment hydro users will have to cover. Korb Whale said there is no such problem with biogas generated electricity.
He added there is no oxygen in the gas, and, “to make it work, all we have to do is heat it and stir it. We’ve completely closed our loop – we’re using our waste to create power.”
There are other benefits, too.
The process completely kills weed seeds and pathogens in manure. The remains after gas extraction can be used for fertilizer, but it is better quality than normal since “It becomes much more available to the roots of the plants.”
Whale calls it “a complete system for green energy. There’s nothing that beats it.”
Besides benefits to the farm, Whale said urban areas can benefit from the process. There are about 15 biogas projects now operating around Ontario, with again as many underway. He noted farmers feed cities, but added that once biogas is in large use, cities can provide organic waste that can create methane and hydro power.
That means much less waste going to landfills and could save millions in those costs over the long term.
“We can process it and make electricity,” Whale said of city waste.
And, one biogas official noted there are 6,000 dairy farms alone in Ontario that could some day produce power.
Farm tour
Nearly two dozen people, including a group from Austria toured the project that will supply 500kw of hydro electric power.
The provincial government has apparently been so impressed with the results from biogas projects that payments to its operators for hydro from biogas power generation was not reduced recently – even as the government cut payments for wind and solar power.
The Minister of Agriculture appears to be a big supporter.
“I believe,” said McMeekin when executive coordinator Jennifer Green of Biogas Association (formerly the Agrienergy Producers Association of Ontario) cited all the benefits of biogas.
The Liberal government has been having difficulties in rural Ontario over wind turbines and lost several cabinet members from there in the last election. It now appears to be working to change that.
Whale said, “There’s a lot of people complaining about green energy [wind turbines and solar projects].”
McMeekin replied, “I’m with you.”
He added that as Minister of Agriculture, his work crosses a number of ministries, including Energy, Natural Resources and Environment.
He said, “You’re creating jobs, you’re reducing greenhouse gases, you’re growing your own feed, and you need less fertilizer.”
He heard part of the project at the Whales’ farm was to change a line of hydro from one phase to three phase, which has meant a better supply of power not only to Clovermead Farms but also three neighbours in the immediate area, thus improving rural infrastructure.
Whale said there is virtually no smell and no conversion of hydro going to the grid from AC to DC.
“There’s not a lot of people complaining about this green energy,” Korb Whale said with a smile.
McMeekin said, “I’m with you.
Whale said he had 200 people visiting his farm with their children for a social time last fall and when he explained the biogas project, the energy conscious children gave him a standing ovation.
McMeekin told officials from the Biogas Association partnerships appear to be the best way to get such projects operating. “You’re achieving together what is unlikely to be created alone. The sustainability has got to be massive.”
He added, “It’s great for me, as minister, to see so many buying in … We’ll continue to be partners.”
Korb Whale’s mom, Deborah, said the Biogas Association is “trying to grow the industry. What more can we do?”
McMeekin said the best thing is to tell the biogas story because so few people know about that method of hydro generation – or its benefits.
Biogas Association president Dan Jones, of Fergus said the association is “between a rock and a hard place” because of the expense of such projects and the current economic situation.
McMeekin replied, “I understand where you’re at,” and added it is the government’s mandate “to grow every sector.”
He said the benefits with this project are improving the economy, enhancing relationships between producers and processors, growing exports and technology, an networking for food sovereignty.
