RUTLAND — Gov. Deval L. Patrick yesterday visited Jordan Dairy Farm to highlight a project that produces methane gas from cow manure.
The mood at Jordan Farm was celebratory, as four years of planning, preparation and collaboration came to fruition. The anaerobic digester, which designers say is the first of its kind in Massachusetts, combines separated solid organics — leftover products from food manufacturers — with manure to produce methane gas, which is converted to electricity.
“We are here in a moment in history,” Mr. Patrick said. “You have invented the pathway here. I feel very strongly about inventing our future and applying ourselves to make it a reality.”
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From left, Randy Jordan, owner of Jordan Dairy Farm in Rutland; Bill L. Jorgenson, managing partner for AGreen Energy LLC; and Gov. Deval L. Patrick tour the anaerobic digester at the farm. (T&G Staff/TOM RETTIG)
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“What you see here on this farm is the future,” U.S. Rep. James McGovern, D-Worcester, said. “I will be taking the story of Jordan Dairy Farm all the way to Washington, D.C. This green technology is the business of the future.”
Bill Jorgenson, managing partner for AGreen Energy LLC, which owns the digester, said the project has the potential to create seven different sources of revenue: electricity, renewable energy tax credits, standby credits, generation credits, liquid and solid fertilizer, and heat.
“This is a new way for small farmers to generate income, so they can pass their farms down to their kids,” Mr. Jorgenson said.
Mr. Jorgenson also said that while the technology is German, all the parts of digester were manufactured in the United States.
By combining the food waste products with the manure, a greater level of gas is generated. The digester is expected to produce enough electricity to power 300 homes. It will also remove the equivalent of 1,200 cars' worth of greenhouse gasses from the air. To help fuel the project, Jordan Farm receives two truckloads of food waste each day from Cains Foods, Kayem Foods, HP Hood & Sons and Cabot Creamery. The companies purchase some of their electricity from the farm.
After visiting the farm, Mr. Patrick went to the former Rutland Heights Hospital, where state Sen. Stephen M. Brewer, D-Barre, asked for assistance in developing the property. The property, which is owned by the state, is scheduled to be transferred to the town after a clear title is established.
“We'd like for it to be on your radar screen,” Mr. Brewer said to the governor.
“Oh, it is,” Mr. Patrick said.
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