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May 5, 2006
AT PONDEROSA DAIRIES Plan: Turn waste into electricity
By PHILLIP GOMEZ
The announcement came in a news release from Laura Ann Padilla, vice president of Bioenergy Solutions. "We are working closely with the management and ownership of Ponderosa Dairies to implement and operate this green energy bio - mass - to - electricity power plant," Padilla said in the statement. "BESI" is the company's acronym for Bio-Energy Solutions Incorporated, the technology for which will be integrated into the dairy's operations in coming months in order to process the waste generated by milk cows. The estimated electric production capacity at startup is between one and two megawatts, Padilla said. The figure may increase once the system is fully operational, she added. Situated at the largest dairy in Nevada, the project will showcase Bioenergy Solutions' patented technology to reduce greenhouse gases and produce renewable energy. Currently, the cows' waste is channeled as sludge into evaporative lagoons. "This technology can process the waste 85 percent faster than that," said Padilla. That's three or four days for the methane gas to be converted into electric power, she said. "It reduces the smell and it reduces the flies," Padilla said. A resulting byproduct, organic mulch, makes an ideal plant bedding and amendment to potting soil, according to Bioenergy Solutions. The mulch will be marketed alongside Ponderosa's existing compost and other topsoil products. Ponderosa Dairies and Bioenergy Solutions say the project's investment of energy dollars in renewable resources will assist in reinvigorating Nevada's rural economy "We believe in Nevada and are taking an active role in achieving part of Nevada's goal to become a showcase for green energy," said Padilla. |
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