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This week, the La Crosse-based cooperative dedicated its first cow-powered generating plant in Dunn County, north of Eau Claire. And more are coming soon.
At Five Star Farms, manure produced by Lee Johnson's 900 milk cows now generates enough renewable energy to power 600 homes.
It works like this: Manure goes into a digester tank that creates methane gas. Dairy-land buys the gas and uses it to make electricity with a small generator right on the farm.
The $2 million plant was built by Microgy Inc., which licensed Danish digester technology that has been used at 20 European facilities during the past 15 years. Microgy says its digester produces four to six times as much methane gas as other technologies, which makes it financially feasible.
"There were a lot of naysayers," said Johnson, who visited Denmark to check out the technology before he invested in cow power. "But I felt that with Dairyland's backing, I couldn't imagine it wouldn't work."
Johnson, who invested more than $1 million in his part of the plant, expects it to pay for itself in less than nine years. Getting a $180,000 renewable energy grant helps, he said.
In the meantime, cow power has other benefits, Johnson said. The digester reduces manure odor significantly and manure volume somewhat.
It kills pathogens and weed seeds in the manure, making it a better, safer fertilizer. And fewer seeds in the manure means Johnson can use less herbicide on his crops.
"This green alliance Dairyland and Microgy have formed is a win-win for energy consumers and the environment," said William Berg, CEO of Dairyland. "We are very excited to see this first facility begin producing power, and look forward to bringing more digester plants online in the future."
Dairyland spokeswoman Katie Thomson said Johnson's is the first of 20 cow power plants the cooperative hopes to build. In late July, Wild Rose Dairy in La Farge is scheduled to go online.
A cow power plant needs manure from about 800 animals, but Johnson said improving technology could make it feasible for smaller farms.
And people can contribute, too. Johnson said some digesters in Denmark produce gas from a mixture of animal and human waste.
Reid Magney can be reached at (608) 791-8211 or rmagney@lacrossetribune.com.
