Green Mountain Dairy Farm Joins CVPS Cow Power(TM)
March 22 2007 - 1:00PM
Business Wire
Green Mountain Dairy, a family farm owned and operated by brothers
Brian and Bill Rowell, has joined CVPS Cow Power� (NYSE:CV) as the
program�s third manure-to-energy producer � just as the program has
earned national accolades. �Dairy farming is in crisis all across
this country. Milk prices are far too low, around what farmers were
paid 30 years ago,� Brian Rowell said. �We view Cow Power as an
opportunity to diversify our farm business, which is critical to
our long-term success and keeping our land in productive
agriculture. �The Cow Power program could prove to be a crucial
link to survival for many farms, and will help sustain agriculture
in Vermont as we know it. Without it, we fear for the family farm.�
Bill Rowell said the environmental benefits of Cow Power were also
critical to their decision to join the program. �We face serious
environmental challenges in the farm industry, but Cow Power will
help us, and Vermont, address many of them,� Bill Rowell said.
�This will improve our manure management, reduce greenhouse gases,
and provide a renewable energy choice to CVPS customers. �We feel
that Cow Power will vastly improve our economic outlook, while
significantly improving the environment that is so critical to
Vermont,� he said. Green Mountain Dairy�s 1,050 cows are expected
to produce 1.8 million kilowatt-hours of electricity a year, enough
to power 300 to 400 CVPS Cow Power� customers. Customers who enroll
pay a premium of 4 cents per kilowatt-hour. To generate
electricity, manure is held in a sealed concrete tank at the same
temperature as a cow�s stomach. Bacteria digest the volatile
components, creating methane while killing pathogens and weed
seeds. The methane fuels a generator, and the energy is put onto
CVPS�s power lines for delivery to customers. The remaining waste
can be separated into solids and liquid. The solids can be used as
cow bedding or composted for home and garden use, while the liquid,
which is virtually odorless, will be spread as fertilizer on the
farm as it has been for hundreds of years. The environmental
benefits are significant. They include: Improved manure management,
and air and water quality. The destruction of methane, which is
roughly 20 times worse than carbon dioxide at trapping heat in the
atmosphere. Significant reduction of pathogens, including e coli,
and weed seeds, which may reduce the need for herbicides. Reduced
fossil fuel use through the use of generator waste heat to produce
hot water. Replacement of sawdust bedding with dry solids, and
reduced fossil fuels for hauling sawdust from as far away as
Canada. Virtual elimination of odor when spreading liquid manure on
fields. EEI honors CVPS, Cow Power Green Mountain Dairy�s first
generation coincides with a major CVPS Cow Power� honor. The Edison
Electric Institute has named Central Vermont and the Cow Power
program a finalist for the industry�s highest honor, the Edison
Award, along with Great Plains Energy, ITC Holdings Corp., and
Northeast Utilities. The winner will be announced June 17 at EEI's
annual convention in Denver. �These companies have demonstrated
leadership by addressing some of the important issues our industry
faces, including emissions reduction, new fuel development,
infrastructure improvements and demand growth,� EEI President Tom
Kuhn said. �Their efforts reflect the dedication to service and
innovative spirit that embody our industry.� �Central Vermont
Public Service has developed its trademarked CVPS Cow Power�, the
nation�s first farm-to-consumer renewable energy choice based on
biogas fuel derived from cow manure,� EEI said in a statement. �The
renewable energy program is one of the fastest-growing in the U.S.
and offers a win-win solution for farmers, customers, the
environment, the utility and the industry. Benefits include helping
to resolve the significant environmental challenges relating to
manure disposal, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, improving the
financial outlook for Vermont family farms, and generating
extensive, positive national and international media coverage for
the process and the industry.� CVPS President Bob Young said he was
pleased with the honor, but said it was the result of a cooperative
spirit that touched everyone involved. �CVPS Cow Power� would not
be a success without an incredible collaboration between CVPS
employees, state and federal agriculture officials and utility
regulators, farm owners, environmental groups, and more than 3,800
CVPS customers so far,� Young said. �Our hope is that Cow Power
continues to be an example for other states, other utilities and
other customers who want to do something for the environment and
the farm economy.� Skimmer Hellier, who co-owns Stark Mountain
Woodworking with Louis Dupont in New Haven, Vt., recently enrolled
his business in Cow Power to support the environment, renewable
energy and farming. With more than 60,000 kilowatt-hours of energy
use annually, enrollment will cost Stark Mountain about $2,400 per
year. Stark Mountain produces one-of-a-kind furniture pieces,
museum displays, interior millwork and historic restorations, and
is closely tied to the Vermont landscape and environment. �When we
take on a job, we focus on every detail, whether it�s in our
workmanship or how we interact with the environment,� Hellier said.
�We pride ourselves on the work we do, and our relationship with
the customer, the state of Vermont and the environment. �Enrolling
in Cow Power ties all those things together. By enrolling, we feel
we�re doing the right thing for the company, for the customer and
for Vermont.�
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