Manure to energy
Seabreeze Dairy Farm supplies households in British Columbia’s lower mainland with milk and…. natural gas.
The working dairy farm captures methane that is released naturally from cow manure, cleans it up using sophisticated equipment into something called renewable natural gas, and sends it to approximately 1,000 customers through the pipeline network of the local natural gas distributor.
Methane is a potent greenhouse gas. By recovering it, Seabreeze Dairy Farm is turning an otherwise harmful byproduct into both a renewable source of energy and a business opportunity.
The initiative helps complete a sustainable loop of food, waste and energy. In addition to recycling the waste gas product, the process leaves behind a nutrient-rich digestate which becomes fertilizer for crops that are then used to feed the cows.
How do we accelerate the use of clean technologies like this?
Clean innovation is an opportunity for all sectors of Canada's economy. But it sometimes takes some unusual alliances and thinking outside of the box. How do we put our economic sectors on a path to success in the low-carbon eocnomy of the 21st century?
Government and the private sector both have roles to play in that.
Find out how by reading our latest work on accelerating #Cleaninnovation in Canada.
