Project: Brookside Dairy

The Brookside Dairy, home to around 475 milk cows, is located in rural Indiana County, Pennsylvania.

In 2005 the family that owns the 200-year-old Brookside dairy farm decided to install an anaerobic digester and methane combustion system. The family saw the new equipment as a way to create additional revenue for the farm, through the sale of the electricity and associated environmental commodities generated by the project. In addition, they also saw the project as a way for them to make a positive impact on the environment.

Before installing the methane combustion system, the dairy collected cow manure in a lagoon, where it would naturally decompose, producing methane (CH4), a powerful greenhouse gas. However, today a digester accelerates the release of methane from the manure in the lagoon while a reinforced fabric cover captures this methane is then used to fuel a
Caterpillar 3306 engine connected to a 277/480 volt, 3 phase 85kW electric generator.