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Economic feasibility of converting cow manure to electricity: A case study of the CVPS Cow Power program in Vermont

Author

Listed:
  • Wang, Qingbin
  • Thompson, Ethan
  • Parsons, Robert L.
  • Rogers, Glenn

Abstract

A case study of the Central Vermont Public Service Corporation (CVPS) Cow Power program examines the economic feasibility for dairy farms to convert cow manure into electricity via anaerobic methane digestion. The study confirms that it is technically feasible to convert cow manure to electricity on dairy farms but the economic returns highly depend on the base electricity price paid by CVPS, premium rate paid by CVPS customers, financial supports from government agencies and other organizations, and sales of the by-products of methane generation. Lessons learned from this program will be useful to other dairy farms and communities interested in converting cow manure into electricity.

Suggested Citation

  • Wang, Qingbin & Thompson, Ethan & Parsons, Robert L. & Rogers, Glenn, 2011. "Economic feasibility of converting cow manure to electricity: A case study of the CVPS Cow Power program in Vermont," 2011 Annual Meeting, July 24-26, 2011, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 104564, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    • Handle: RePEc:ags:aaea11:104564
    DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.104564
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    Cited by:

    1. Wang, Qingbin & Thompson, Ethan & Tweedy, Angela & O'Leary, Mary L. & Crossman, Williams W., 2021. "Potentials and obstacles for community anaerobic digesters in the United States: Evidence from a case study in Vermont," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 137(C).
    2. Patrycja Pochwatka & Alina Kowalczyk-Juśko & Piotr Sołowiej & Agnieszka Wawrzyniak & Jacek Dach, 2020. "Biogas Plant Exploitation in a Middle-Sized Dairy Farm in Poland: Energetic and Economic Aspects," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(22), pages 1-17, November.
    3. Cowley, Cortney & Brorsen, B. Wade, 2018. "Anaerobic Digester Production and Cost Functions," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 152(C), pages 347-357.
    4. Anderson, Robert C. & Hilborn, Don & Weersink, Alfons, 2013. "An economic and functional tool for assessing the financial feasibility of farm-based anaerobic digesters," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 85-92.
    5. Cowley, Cortney & Brorsen, B. Wade & Hamilton, Doug, 2014. "Economic Feasibility of Anaerobic Digesters with Swine Operations," 2014 Annual Meeting, July 27-29, 2014, Minneapolis, Minnesota 170621, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    6. Thompson, Ethan & Wang, Qingbin & Li, Minghao, 2013. "Anaerobic digester systems (ADS) for multiple dairy farms: A GIS analysis for optimal site selection," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 114-124.
    7. Binkley, David & Harsh, Stephen & Wolf, Christopher A. & Safferman, Steven & Kirk, Dana, 2013. "Electricity purchase agreements and distributed energy policies for anaerobic digesters," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 341-352.
    8. Qingbin Wang & Laurel Valchuis & Ethan Thompson & David Conner & Robert Parsons, 2019. "Consumer Support and Willingness to Pay for Electricity from Solar, Wind, and Cow Manure in the United States: Evidence from a Survey in Vermont," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(23), pages 1-13, November.
    9. Li, Xue & Mupondwa, Edmund, 2018. "Commercial feasibility of an integrated closed-loop ethanol-feedlot-biodigester system based on triticale feedstock in Canadian Prairies," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 97(C), pages 401-413.
    10. Chaudhary, A. & Goyal, M., 2014. "Economics of Electricity Generation Using Cattle Dung — A Case Study on Bio-methanation Power Plant in Ludhiana," Agricultural Economics Research Review, Agricultural Economics Research Association (India), vol. 27(2).
    11. Zhao, Ning & You, Fengqi, 2019. "Dairy waste-to-energy incentive policy design using Stackelberg-game-based modeling and optimization," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 254(C).
    12. Willeghems, Gwen & Buysse, Jeroen, 2016. "Changing old habits: The case of feeding patterns in anaerobic digesters," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 92(C), pages 212-221.
    13. Robert C. Anderson & Alfons Weersink, 2014. "A Real Options Approach for the Investment Decisions of a Farm-Based Anaerobic Digester," Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics/Revue canadienne d'agroeconomie, Canadian Agricultural Economics Society/Societe canadienne d'agroeconomie, vol. 62(1), pages 69-87, March.
    14. Kangondo, Angelique, 2015. "Economics of Manure Disposal and Utilization in Morogoro Municipality, Tanzania," Research Theses 243440, Collaborative Masters Program in Agricultural and Applied Economics.
    15. Benavidez, Justin R. & Thayer, Anastasia W. & Anderson, David P., 2019. "Poo Power: Revisiting Biogas Generation Potential on Dairy Farms in Texas," Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 51(4), pages 682-700, November.

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