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.

I just got this warning about Shale gas not being as clean as it may of at first appeared, or as “claimed”.

Shale Gas: Not Clean, Either? « Clean Energy Wonk

Not only are there serious questions about just how abundant natural gas from shale plays is, it now turns out that this “Cheap, Clean, Abundant, and Domestic” resource may turn out to only be domestic. …

In that story, they mentioned,

In a draft paper, Cornell researcher Robert Howarth calculates that, when methane leakage from hydraulic fracturing is included, along with secondary contributions from forest clearance and water transport are included, the carbon footprint of shale gas is slightly worse than coal’s.

Here is more on that story.

Fracking not a cleaner alternative: Cornell prof

(Reuters) – Natural gas obtained by the controversial technique of hydraulic fracturing may contribute significantly to greenhouse gas emissions and so should not be considered as a cleaner alternative to coal or oil, according to a Cornell University researcher.

Although natural gas, when burned, produces only about half of the carbon dioxide emissions of coal, that calculation omits greenhouse gas emissions from the well-drilling, water-trucking, pipeline-laying, and forest-felling that are part of the production of hydraulically fractured natural gas, Ecology Professor Robert Howarth argues in a new paper.

Combining the effects of combustion, production, distribution, and leaked methane from hydraulically fractured natural gas gives the fuel about the same greenhouse gas emissions as coal and about 30 percent more than diesel or gasoline, Howarth says in the draft paper published in mid-March.

“A complete consideration of all emissions from using natural gas seems likely to make natural gas far less attractive than other fossil fuels in terms of the consequences for global warming,” Howarth writes.

Energy companies are scrambling to develop vast reserves of natural gas from deep shale beds in many U.S. states including Texas, Louisiana, and Pennsylvania. Experts say shale gas could meet national demand for a century while helping to reduce carbon emissions and reducing petroleum imports.

“Government and industry should not be moving ahead on the basis of what is already misleading and incomplete information,” Howarth told Reuters. He urged a moratorium on further development in the multibillion-dollar industry until more is known about its greenhouse gas emissions.

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