Sludge Watch ==> PG and E - Energy from cow poo in California Central Valley

[maureen.reilly at sympatico.ca]

Cowpies ambrosia to energy company: PG&E will distribute gas firm extracts 
from Central Valley dairies

14.jul.06
The Modesto Bee, Calif.
Knight-Ridder Tribune
John Holland

Pacific Gas & Electric Co. this week was cited as announcing that it will 
allow its natural gas pipelines to carry gas made from dairy manure in the 
Central Valley.
The utility reached an agreement with Environmental Power Corp. of New 
Hampshire, which plans to install manure digesters on dairies and share the 
energy income with the farm owners.
The digesters, which use bacteria to break down manure, would turn out a 
methane-rich gas compatible with what PG&E buys from fossil-fuel sources.
PG&E spokesman Jon Tremayne was quoted as saying, "There are 120 pounds of 
manure on average from each cow per day. That's a significant resource and a 
significant amount of methane."
This gas could provide up to 5percent of PG&E's "core" supply in 10 years 
and up to 10 percent eventually, he said. The core supply is the gas the 
utility buys for homes and small to medium-size businesses.
Energy from manure is not anew idea, but most of the attention has been on 
burning methane on the farm to generate electricity. The new partnership 
would make dairies a contributor to the natural gas supply, which provides 
most of the energy Californians use for space heating, water heating and 
cooking.