Cargill Equipment Turning Waste into Wattage

A Bettencourt dairy farm in Iowa has found a way to make use of its waste, thanks to a an "anaerobic digester" built and operated by Cargill Environmental Finance.  The digester turns manure, for the farm’s 6,000 cows, into energy which is then sold back to the local power grid.  Just how much energy does the anaerobic digester generate from manure?  Up to 1.2 million kilowatt-hours of electricity a month; enough energy to provide power to roughly 1,400 U.S. homes. 

This is Cargill’s second anaerobic digester in use on a Bettencourt dairy farm.  The first one, in operation since 2008, converts manure to power for 10,000 cows.  A third digester project is under way for a 5,500-cow dairy farm near Idaho Falls through Cargill Global Emissions. 

Cargill Environmental Finance’s managing director Jay Ritzen said “we look to environmental innovation as a way to preserve and protect the environment that includes using energy and resources more wisely in our own operations and helping our customers’ shrink their environmental footprints.” 

http://www.cargill.com/corporate-responsibility/environmental-innovation/pioneering-new-businesses/biogas/index.jsp