Besides ethanol for fuel, I believe that methane gas is a great alternative energy source TODAY!  Unlike some technologies like solar panels, hydrogen, and fuel cells, that are out of the normal price range of homeowners, ethanol and methane gas are cheaper and easier to put to use at home.

Don’t get me wrong.  Solar has many ‘other’ uses, for heating air and water, that are ready now also, but for electricity, it’s still a little pricey.

I came across some information today that I wanted to pass on.   The Vermont Technical College is looking at building one.  There is a pdf download there too, that you might be interested in getting called, “Food Scrapes”.

Vermont food scraps, compost and power source | Vtdigger.org

The information for this map came from a project to help determine the feasibility of building a methane digester at Vermont Technical College.

Publish Date: 05/10/2010 3:59

http://vtdigger.org/2010/05/10/vermont-food-scraps-compost-and-power-source/

I have posted some information on Jean Pain and using wood chip composting for hot water and methane gas, before, and here is someone who is going to be doing it on his Urban Farm.  I’m looking forward to hearing his results.

Jean Pain Compost Methods – It Begins. « One Straw: Be The Change

My goal is to produce burnable methane, in my backyard, with no fancy gizmos. Growing Power built a methane digester and theirs cost $750000. I am shooting for about $250 and that is only if I do my heat exchanger idea. …

Publish Date: 05/11/2010 19:06

http://onestraw.wordpress.com/2010/05/11/jean-pain-compost-methods-it-begins/

Next, is encouraging news to me, in that here is another example of the changes in progress.  What I mean, is that every day I am seeing more and more people all over this country, learning about and doing more work with methane.  This story is about a conference held in Wisconsin, learning from farmers who are using methane digesters on their farms.  It also has a link to a government site that has a database of farms with methane digesters, plus other information on methane.  I’m excited to see it all happening.

Lessons learned from digester dairies – Blogspot

And while many of the conference’s attendees had their eyes focused on energy production, none of the farms said that was why they built and continue to operate a methane digester. “We did it for public acceptance (of our large farm) …

Publish Date: 04/27/2010 12:29

http://hdnotebook.blogspot.com/2010/04/lessons-learned-from-digester-dairies.html

This last one for today, is an interesting idea.  Taking an old shipping container, turning it into a self-contained methane digester.  I’m going to be looking into this further.

MuckBuster Anaerobic Digester Generates Energy From Poop – Ecofriend

Eco Factor: Anaerobic digester produces renewable energy from organic materials. SEaB Energy has announced a new anaerobic digester that is…

Publish Date: 04/20/2010 23:23

http://www.ecofriend.org/entry/muckbuster-anaerobic-digester-generates-energy-from-poop/

If you have news about methane digesters, please send them in.  Also, if you like this post be sure to share it with others, and leave your comments below.