Methane Digesters on Dairy Farms...

This is something that may not be feasible at the moment, but definitely worth some thought.

Install Methane Digesters on every dairy farm (and large beef operations) in the Province. This has the potential to take every one of those farms, (possibly other animal farms with more research), off the power grid in Ontario. We have already felt the consequences of not being able to produce enough hydro during peak usage times in the form of rolling black outs. Well, I would think that taking every dairy farm (and others) in the province off the grid would result in a very substantial reduction in overall hydro usage. The other benefit of this idea is that you would be reducing the methane (also important if we are going to try to meet the Kyoto protocols) that these farms are producing. Right now the methane simply enters the atmosphere adding to the greenhouse effect. As many of you know, methane is much worse for the atmosphere than carbon dioxide (which is what is produced when you burn methane to produce hydro and heat). Livestock currently represents 35% of all methane emissions from anthropogenic sources (that being produce from human activity). Even cutting that number in half would significantly reduce the methane we produce. This project again represents a dual benefit to the environment in the sense that we would be reducing the amount of electricity that would have to be produced to feed the grid as well as converting a highly harmful greenhouse gas like methane into a milder gas like carbon dioxide.

Right now, as it states here, the economics of methane digesters only work on farms of 500 plus cattle. I think the potential benefits of something like this necessitate further research and funding geared towards making it not only financial viable but more efficient and financially advantageous to implement Methane Digesters on a mass scale. I think the potential is there for Methane Digesters to have a significant positive impact on both the environment and farm economics in general.

Other possible advantages of Methane Digesters could be:

• Feeding the gird with excess hydro production. (Decreasing grid strain even further)
  
• Using the heat generated as a source of hot water instead of using a hot water tank.
• Heating Greenhouses to grow fruits and vegetables. (Negating the need to burn other gases to heat them, which are also very costly)
  
• Heating the primary residence of the farm.