The
California Department of Food and Agriculture, the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency and their partner agencies in the California/Federal Dairy
Digester Working Group announced today a joint solicitation for dairy digester
concept proposals.
California
is the largest dairy state in the USA, with approximately 1.7 million cows
producing more than 3.6 million dry tons of manure per year that must be
managed to reduce or mitigate environmental impacts. Manure can be processed by
anaerobic digesters, sealed containers or tanks where the biological
digestion of animal manure can occur, and biogas, a flexible renewable
source of energy, is formed.
The
ultimate goals of the collaboration are to see the widespread adoption of
digester systems to better manage manure and nutrients, help address air and
water quality concerns, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and produce renewable
energy, fertilizer, and other value-added products.
“California
farmers and ranchers are innovators by nature,” said CDFA Secretary Karen Ross.
“Dairy digester technology is an idea whose time has come, and that is largely
due to work done right here on California’s dairy farms. We are at a point
where focused funding can help us make the transition to wider adoption and
implementation of digesters in our state.”
“Dairy
digesters can benefit the environment by reducing greenhouse gasses and
generating renewable energy”, said Jared Blumenfeld, EPA’s Regional
Administrator for the Pacific Southwest. “EPA is optimistic that this call for
proposals will result in unique and innovative technologies that will
benefit California, the nation’s number-one dairy state.”
History
Back
in 2011, a partnership of state, federal and local agencies, academia,
industry, non-profits and utilities came together to identify and remove
barriers to the development and permitting of dairy digester systems in
California. The work has culminated in specific recommendations that make
digester systems more feasible in the nation’s number-one dairy producing
state. The current joint solicitation for dairy digester concept proposals is
another important result of the working group.
Proposals
Proposals
should include development, installation and operation of dairy manure digester
and co-digester projects and may include processes for the treatment and
disposal of waste streams from the digester operations to address environmental
impacts. Dairy digester and co-digester development is expected to take place
on individual dairies or at centralized facilities located within California.
Funding
Funding
may be provided by various participating agencies of the California/Federal
Dairy Digester Working Group for proposals that are deemed most viable with the
greatest measurable outcomes. Individual digester projects will qualify for
funding on a case-by-case basis, and projects can potentially receive financial
support from multiple participants.
To
assist in identifying potential funding sources, the California/Federal Dairy
Digester Working Group has created a Funding Matrix document that identifies
potential funding sources along with general criteria for the types of projects
that would qualify for the funding. A copy of solicitation and the funding
matrix can be found at:
For
more information on diary digesters, contact Steve Lyle, Director of
Public Affairs, California Department of Food and Agriculture,
at 916-654-0462, or go to: