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Identifying Barriers and Potential Solutions to Facilitate Anaerobic Digester Projects in Idaho: Roundtable Report

Identifying Barriers and Potential Solutions to Facilitate Anaerobic Digester Projects in Idaho: Roundtable Report

Full Title: Identifying Barriers and Potential Solutions to Facilitate Anaerobic Digester Projects in Idaho: Roundtable Report
Author(s): Energy Policy Institute (EPI) and Center for Advanced Energy Studies (CAES)
Publisher(s): Energy Policy Institute (EPI) and Center for Advanced Energy Studies (CAES)
Publication Date: April 1, 2012
Full Text: Download Resource
Description (excerpt):

Anaerobic digestion is a complex process in which organic matter is broken down by bacteria in the absence of oxygen. The end result is biogas and a solid residual or effluent. The biogas can be used to generate electricity, be sold to a natural gas utility, or be used to help power industry or farm operations. Since the residual is “relatively pathogen-free,” it can be used as animal bedding or as a soil amendment, among other uses. (Petcash, 2011). Dairy waste to energy in Idaho has the potential to reduce greenhouse gases, enhance environmental sustainability, increase the proportion of renewably generated electricity, and to provide economic benefits for farm owners and rural communities. A report by the Idaho Strategic Energy Alliance (ISEA) Biogas Task Force (2009) identified community digesters from a number of dairies to generate electricity as the “most viable” option for “success in the immediate future” (p. 7), although there were only two anaerobic digesters on dairy farms at the time of the report’s writing. Despite the potential benefits, there are significant barriers to the widespread adoption of anaerobic digesters for dairy waste to energy, and in particular the production of electricity. Many of these barriers are related to costs and regulatory policy. As a result, a policy roundtable to investigate and recommend next steps that have the potential to address these barriers is warranted.

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