Washington Dairy Project Addresses Climate Change
US - A project in Washington State will support local dairy farms and reduce approximately 4,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions per year. eBay, Stonyfield Farm, Brita, and Effect Partners are enabling this project through the purchase of NativeEnergy’s Help Build™ carbon offsets.
23 March 2011
2 minute read
Conventionally, manure storage on dairy farms results in the release of methane—a greenhouse gas 21 times more potent than CO2—into the atmosphere. The Rainier Farm Biogas Project in Enumclaw, WA, will avoid this pollution through the construction of a manure digester.
Three family-owned farms will feed their manure to the sealed, heated system. None of the farms is large enough to support a digester by itself, but through collaboration, they can jointly support it. The digester will capture and burn the methane to produce electricity in a 1-megawatt electric generator, which will deliver renewable energy to the region’s electrical grid.
The developer, Rainier Biogas LLC, turned to NativeEnergy to help provide financing for the project. By selling the carbon reductions that will result from the digester, NativeEnergy was able to provide critical upfront funding for construction. Through NativeEnergy’s innovative Help Build™ carbon offsets, eBay, Stonyfield Farm, Brita, and Effect Partners were able to purchase a share of the verified emissions reductions that the project will produce over a 10-year period.
Jeff Bernicke, President of NativeEnergy, said: “This project shows that, through a cooperative effort, our Help Build™ carbon offsets bring new carbon reduction projects on line.
Kevin Maas of Rainier Biogas, the project developer, noted: “Everyone in the community will benefit from this project. It will reduce greenhouse gas emissions, protect the area’s sensitive rivers and streams, and provide low-cost bedding for local farmers.”
TheCattleSite News Desk
