Alpaca farm runs on CVPS Cow Power
March 22 2006 - 10:33AM
Business Wire
New England's largest alpaca farm is teaming up with Vermont's
largest voluntary renewable energy program, CVPS Cow Power(TM).
"We're putting CVPS Cow Power(TM) to work at Cas-Cad-Nac Farm,"
said co-owner Ian Lutz, who with his wife Jennifer runs the
250-head alpaca farm in central Vermont. "We're strong supporters
of sustainable, Vermont-scale agriculture, so it's a natural
decision for us to become Cow Power customers." CVPS Cow Power(TM)
is the nation's only direct farm-to-consumer renewable energy
program, creating a market for farmers who want to process cow
manure and other farm waste to generate electricity. More than
2,500 CVPS customers have enrolled in the program, which provides
farms with new manure management opportunities, environmental
benefits and income. With annual electric use of about 55,000
kilowatt-hours, Cas-Cad-Nac Farm is now the biggest single customer
enrolled in CVPS Cow Power(TM). The farm plans to cross-market its
alpacas with CVPS Cow Power(TM), using its newsletter, website and
farm signage to promote the program. "Our customers tend to be very
supportive of the farm lifestyle we enjoy, so Cow Power is the
perfect fit for Cas-Cad-Nac Farm," Jennifer Lutz said. "No one else
in the country is doing anything like this for dairy farmers."
Enrolling Cas-Cad-Nac Farm in CVPS Cow Power(TM) also fits CVPS's
original concept for the renewable energy choice. "From the
beginning we've wanted to partner with customers who wanted to go
beyond just enrolling, who wanted to trumpet their enrollment,"
CVPS President Bob Young said. "That's good for the customers, good
for farms, and good for the program." CVPS Cow Power(TM) was born
of a desire to give electric customers a 100 percent renewable
energy choice. CVPS did extensive customer surveying to gauge
demand for a renewable choice, and support for farm-based
generation in particular. Based on that data, the company worked
with state regulators, the Agency of Agriculture and others to
develop the CVPS Cow Power(TM) concept, which allows customers to
get all, half or a quarter of their electrical energy through Cow
Power. Customers pay a premium of 4 cents per kilowatt hour for
CVPS Cow Power(TM), which goes to participating farm-producers, to
purchase renewable energy credits when enough farm energy isn't
available, or to the CVPS Renewable Development Fund. The fund
provides grants to farm owners to develop on-farm generation.
Farm-producers are also paid 95 percent of the market price for the
energy sold to CVPS. The generation concept is simple. Manure is
held in a sealed concrete tank at the same temperature as a cow's
stomach, 101 degrees. Bacteria digest the volatile components,
creating methane and killing pathogens and weed seeds. The methane
fuels an engine/generator, and the energy is put onto CVPS's power
lines for delivery to customers. The processed farm waste can be
separated into solids and liquid. The solids can be dried and used
as cow bedding or composted for home and garden use, while the
liquid, which is virtually odorless, can be spread as fertilizer on
the farm as it has been for hundreds of years. "Cow Power makes
perfect sense for Vermont, and Cas-Cad-Nac Farm," Ian Lutz said.
"We want to encourage our customers and neighbors to join us in
enrolling and supporting farming and the environment."
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