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PERSPECTIVE

CSU Summer, 2004, Vol. 12, No. 3, p. 199

Where Renewable Energy Meets Up With Compost

ON November 8-9-10, 2004, the Fourth Annual Conference on RENEWABLE ENERGY FROM ORGANICS RECYCLING will be held in Des Moines, Iowa. Sponsors of the Conference are the publishers of BioCycle and Compost Science & Utilization. Cosponsors include the Great Lakes

Regional Biomass Energy Program, the Environmental and Energy Study Institute, Focus on Energy, Iowa Department of Natural Resources, Iowa Energy Center, New Uses Council and the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service.
Special sessions will focus on the connections between Compost, Energy Savings and Soil Organic Matter. For example, Tom Glanville of Iowa State University - an editorial board member and reviewer for CS&U - will present a paper on “Compost Alternatives to Petroleum-Based Products.” His research demonstrates the effectiveness of compost in erosion and sediment control as well as storm water management - making it a potential replacement product for petroleum-based silt fence. He will also discuss the relevance of compost use as an alternative to petrochemical products. Another speaker - Nora Goldstein, executive editor of BioCycle - will highlight the impact that organics recycling has on moving nations toward energy independence.
Two soil scientists will evaluate the role of agricultural generators in a region's watershed, and how compost has a critical role in low-energy agricultural practices. Another soil scientist will quantify carbon sequestration in soils amended with compost, biosolids and other organic materials. A comparison will be made of carbon balance and energy recovery of organics recycling management technologies versus landfilling.
Several speakers who are employed by electric utilities will report on major new projects that involve power generation. Dairyland Power Cooperative based in La Crosse, Wisconsin provides the wholesale electrical requirements and other services for 25 electric distribution cooperatives and 20 municipal utilities. Together they serve more than half a million people in four states (Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa and Illinois). Dairyland and Microgy, a subsidiary of Environmental Power, have formed a “green alliance” to produce renewable electricity at dairy and swine farms within the Dairyland system.
“Project goal is to create up to 25 MW of renewable electricity, fulfilling the energy needs of approximately 20,000 homes in our service area,” says Katie Thomson of Dairyland. A minipower plant will be sited at each farm. After the manure is collected, it will be heated in the digester tank at 135°F for approximately three weeks. “Methane gas that is the by-product of that process will be the fuel used to generate electricity. The digester will be owned by the farmer, and the generator will be owned by DPC,” adds Thomson.
Benefits are cited as follows: Clean air and water pollution issues associated with manure disposal are significantly reduced, as is the odor problem; Weed seeds and pathogens are killed during the heating process; Heated, dewatered by-product of the digestion process can be used as a natural bedding and fertilizer by the farmer.
The editors of Compost Science & Utilization would like to know about your experiences, observations and research on how renewable energy connects with compost. Please e-mail us at csuedit@jgpress.com. And to see the complete agenda for the 4th Annual RENEWABLE ENERGY FROM ORGANICS RECYCLING Conference taking place in Des Moines Nov. 8-10, 2004, visit www.biocycle.net.