CALIFORNIA FARM OPERATING ON PIG POWER; TULARE FAMILY HOPES TO SELL ELECTRICITY FROM SWINE MANURE-TO-METHANE PROCESS.Byline: Mark Grossi Scripps-McClatchy Western Service If stench could be bottled for electrical energy, David Sharp's 15,000-animal pig farm could light a city as easily as Southern California Edison Southern California Edison (or SCE Corp), the largest subsidiary of Edison International (NYSE: EIX), is the primary electricity supply company for much of Southern California. It provides 11 million people with electricity. Co. But Sharp won't need pig odors Odors anosmia Medicine. the absence of the sense of smell; olfactory anesthesia. Also called anosphrasia. — anosmic, adj. halitosis bad breath; an unpleasant odor emanating from the mouth. to compete in the electricity market in January when utility monopolies officially end. Sharp already uses pig manure to make electricity. He and his father, Roy, have been generating and using pig-powered electricity for 16 years on their farm. Now, they're hoping to join the open-market competition to sell their power elsewhere. So far, Sharp Energy, Inc. is one of only three Central California Central California can refer to one of several divisions or regions of the U.S state of California:
All are waiting to see how the competition shapes up. The Sharps want to expand their electricity production if the market will allow it. ``We produce enough electricity for our farms and sell a little back to Southern California Edison,'' Sharp said. ``But we're interested in renting lagoons from dairies around here to produce more energy for sale on the electricity market. It works very well in our operation now.'' His operation consists mainly of a 40,000-square-foot lagoon, using water filled with pig manure. Biological processes break down 10 tons of manure daily. A byproduct by·prod·uct or by-prod·uct n. 1. Something produced in the making of something else. 2. A secondary result; a side effect. Noun 1. is methane gas, which is captured and burned to power two electric generators. The Sharp family paid $90,000 in the 1980s to start up their electricity production, and David estimates it now saves them about $10,000 a month. He said it would cost about $250,000 to set up the same operation today. His small-scale electricity production paid for itself years ago. It also keeps down the flies and the stench, which would be much worse if the pig manure were dried in nearby fields. North Carolina State University History
Other research shows the waste water lagoons are not damaging groundwater quality. University of California The University of California has a combined student body of more than 191,000 students, over 1,340,000 living alumni, and a combined systemwide and campus endowment of just over $7.3 billion (8th largest in the United States). agriculture studies show the manure seals the bottom of the lagoons so wastes don't leach into the surrounding groundwater. ``This isn't a new idea,'' Sharp said above the sound of squealing squeal v. squealed, squeal·ing, squeals v.intr. 1. To give forth a loud shrill cry or sound. 2. Slang To turn informer; betray an accomplice or secret. v.tr. swine in a long row of pins. ``It's fairly simple, and it protects the atmosphere from methane, which is a greenhouse gas greenhouse gas n. Any of the atmospheric gases that contribute to the greenhouse effect. greenhouse gas .'' Very few mechanical devices are used. The water is pumped in beneath the pig pins and passes into an underground system that deposits it into the 25-foot-deep lagoon or pond. In the lagoon, the manure sinks to the bottom and is broken down by bacteria. The resulting chemical reaction causes methane gas to bubble into the water and rise. A durable rubber cap or tarp over the lagoon traps the methane, forcing it and some water into a perforated pipe along the edge of the pond. The water and gas run downhill through the pipe, and the water drops into a barrel. The gas is sucked into the methane-powered motor that turns an electricity generator. The majority of the water runs through two other ponds where natural processes continue to filter the water. Some of the water is reused in the flushing process, and some of it is pumped to a neighboring farm for use on crops. The sludge at the bottom of the lagoon is periodically dredged, and it could be used as a mulch mulch, any material, usually organic, that is spread on the ground to protect the soil and the roots of plants from the effects of soil crusting, erosion, or freezing; it is also used to retard the growth of weeds. . ``The whole idea is to have a renewable energy Renewable energy utilizes natural resources such as sunlight, wind, tides and geothermal heat, which are naturally replenished. Renewable energy technologies range from solar power, wind power, and hydroelectricity to biomass and biofuels for transportation. source,'' Sharp said. |
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