Sustainable Solutions for Managing Animal Waste: Insights and Strategies
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Discover innovative approaches for handling animal waste in the agriculture industry. Explore digester technologies, generation methods, and market potential while overcoming barriers and seizing opportunities.
Sustainable Solutions for Managing Animal Waste: Insights and Strategies
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Presentation Transcript
Digesters for Managing Animal WasteWorkshop August 21, 2002 Bill Johnson, Alliant Energy
Alliant Energy • We serve approximately 53,000 ag customers in a four-state territory. • Alliant Energy Resources, Inc., our non-utility business, has operations in Australia, Brazil, China, Mexico and New Zealand • 6,000 employees in U.S. and internationally
Generation diversity • Coal • Natural Gas • Renewable energy sources • Distributed resources == Reliability
Why Alliant Energy ? • 53,000 farm accounts, large rural utility • Believe in removing economic barriers • Rural economic development • Believe in distributive generation • Strong environmental ethic • Tradition of working with the development of ag. energy technologies
Alliant Energy’s - Wisconsin Biogas Project • 10 MW generation • Farm, food processor, landfill & sewage treatment sources • 3-year project • 5-year contracts • 6 cent/kWh (customer owned)
10 Megawatts ? • 50,000 tons of coal each year • 500 coal cars • 5 unit trains • Electricity for 11,000 homes
Pilot Project Objectives • Access digester technologies • Access generation technologies • Remove technology barriers • Evaluate utility barriers • Access market potential • Increase demand for “green energy”
Double S Dairy, Alto, WI • Flush system • Plug flow • Hess gen-set • Separated solids for bedding and sale
Heat Recovery System • Utilize heat from exhaust of engine or microturbine • Heat digester • Heat buildings • Heat hot water heater • Heat anything else that needs hot water • Refrigeration
Lessons Learned • Digester designs • Corrosion • Pre-heating costs • Soft vs. hard top • Local labor and skills • Gen-set O&M costs • Dewatering • Customer expectations • Bedding requirements • Niche market opportunities • BUYER BEWARE, DO YOUR HOMEWORK!
Barriers to Development of Renewable Energy Technology • Technology must be solution for the customer and add value to their business • High-risk technologies for customer and utility investment • Utilities have an obligation to energy cost and reliability • Few dominant companies, largely a cottage industry, except for wind
Economic Barriers • Utilities must satisfy many stakeholders: customers, shareowners, regulators, interest groups • Must weigh “price is everything” vs. “environment is everything,” must blend needs • Marketplace drives price, there must be greater demand • Risk management, need rewards for investment risks
Social – Political Barriers • NIMBY’ism • “big is bad” attitudes • Should societal benefits be paid for by society or by utility owners and their customers? • Many political uncertainties…DOE, USDA, EPA, State/Local Regulations…
Institutional Barriers • Uniform interconnection standards across utility and state jurisdictions • Net metering • Insurance requirements • Some utilities charge high access and/or interconnection fees • Lack of renewable energy credits • Difficulty with customer aggregation
Market Barriers • Dependency on local utility • Access to transmission system can be expensive and complex • Limited “green power” program participation • Smaller generators have market disadvantages • Risk, purchasing power from inexperienced energy provider
Biomass Project Success Requires • Favorable power purchase agreements • Partnership development • Predictable cash flow • Market for secondary products • Tradable “green qualities” • Incentives de-coupled from cost of fossil fuels • Access to financing
Opportunities • Utilities and customers partnering in addressing environmental and energy challenges • Monies from commodity purchase stays in local communities • May allow delaying or avoidance of utility infrastructure investment • Convert environmental liability into economic assets r
Public Policy • “…We have only scratched the surface of developing farm-based sources of renewable energy—ethanol, biodiesel, biomass, wind, methane, hydrogen. Agriculture is not just about food and fiber. Anything we can produce from a barrel of oil, we can also produce on our farms.” -- Sen. Tom Harkin, IA, Senate Agriculture Committee, June 28, 2001
Philosophies “Be a price maker not a price taker.” --Loren Kruse “Grow what you can sell, don’t sell what you can grow.” --Duane Acker
William A. Johnson Manager, Agriculture Customer Services Alliant Energy 2777 Columbia Dr. Portage, WI 53901 (608) 742-0824 billjohnson@alliantenergy.com