Energy is essential to agriculture, from the fuel needed to operate machinery to the electricity necessary to heat or cool livestock buildings and other outside farm buildings. And as we well know, agriculture is essential to our society. Most of these energy needs are currently met with fossil fuels. As demands on natural resources increase and the effects of human-caused climate change become more disruptive to daily operations — through extreme weather events like drought, wildfires, or hurricanes — new solutions are needed to sustain our food production while improving how it is powered.
Two studies recently released by the Joint Institute for Strategic Energy Analysis (JISEA) show how farms and ag production facilities can make their energy generation and consumption more sustainable.
“JISEA is researching ways to reduce the cost of energy in food systems, reduce emissions, increase food production in areas with little or no access to grid electricity, and increase food resilience and security,” said Liz Weber, JISEA project manager and analyst. “We’re excited to be working on these solutions for Colorado.”
JISEA produced two case studies of opportunities for sustainable, reliable, and economical heat and power generation in Colorado farms. This work—supported by the Colorado Department of Agriculture and Colorado Energy Office—will help advance profitable, clean, and efficient farming operations in Colorado.
Anaerobic Digestion Offers Many Benefits for Colorado Dairies
According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks report, livestock manure management totaled about 9.5% of U.S. methane emissions in 2019, with beef and dairy cattle emitting more methane than any other domestic animal.
Anaerobic digestion, the process in which bacteria break down organic matter in the absence of oxygen, can produce biogas, improve air and water quality, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, helping Colorado reach the targets set forth in the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Reduction Roadmap.
JISEA analysts Darlene Steward, Elizabeth Weber, and Laura Supple conducted a case study of implementing an anaerobic digester system at Aurora Organic Dairy High Plains Farm in Gill, Colorado. The 6,000-acre complex has 13,000 cows, 80% of which are producing milk at any given time.
JISEA modeled an anaerobic digester system at the farm with combined heat and power that operates on biogas. As modeled, the system could produce heat and power equivalent to the hot water needs of 3,400 households and the electricity needs of 1,800 households per day.
“Biogas fuel and digestate products from anaerobic digestion could meet the farm’s energy needs and offer a new revenue stream,” said Darlene Steward, lead author of the JISEA case study.
The anaerobic digester system could produce enough energy to meet all the farm’s electricity demands and export 1-2 megawatts back to the grid. In addition, if the system uses renewable natural gas, 12,000 metric tons of CO2 emissions from gasoline and 5,700 metric tons from manure management could be avoided.
