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Renewable Energy Education Field Days: Anaerobic Digesters – Financing & Technology
Financing and technology of anaerobic digester systems were the subject of two webinars Wednesday, March 14, 2012. Part of the Renewable Energy Education Field Day series, the webinars were targeted to landowners, community leaders and dairy farmers with operations of all sizes.
The webinars were a collaboration of Farm Foundation, NFP, USDA Rural Development, USDA Office of Energy Policy and New Uses, the U.S. Environmental Protection agency, Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy and the Wisconsin Bioenergy Initiative of the University of Wisconsin.
This was the third Renewable Energy Education Field Day program. Biomass was the subject of the first field day, which took place in November 2010. The second field day on Oct. 26, 2011, was a webinar on the use of anaerobic digester systems on livestock operations in the Southwest. A survey of the more than 300 individuals who viewed that webinar indicated interest in additional information on financing installation and maintenance of a digester system, and on the technology options to consider deciding the type of system to install.
Those topics were the focus of the March 14 webinars. The webinars originated from the Pyle Center at the University of Wisconsin, Madison.
Presentations are posted below as speakers have permitted.
Webinar I: Financing an Anaerobic Digestion System
Introduction – Jerry Bingold, Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy
Farmers and Lenders Discuss Financing Structures
Panel:
Karl Crave, Crave Brothers Dairy –
Bob Joblin, AgPower Group – Presentation
Bill Jorgenson, AGreen Energy
Nick DuBois, Avatar, Vermont – Presentation
Joining the panel for questions and discussion were Mark Moser of RCM International and Steve Dvorak of DVO Inc.
Financing and Maintaining Community Anaerobic Digester Sytems
Panel:
David Merritt, Dane County Department of Administration – Presentation
Monte Lamer, Clear Horizons
Anand Gangadharan, Novi Energy
Lenders’ Experiences/Expectations
Jon Best, CAT Financial Services
Michael Land, Baker Tilley Vircho Krause, LLP – Presentation
USDA Funding Programs
Todd Campbell, USDA Rural Development
Webinar 2: Technical Aspects of Anaerobic Digestion Systems
Introduction
Christopher Voell, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency AgStar Program
Overview of AD Technologies
Norma McDonald, Organic Waste Systems
USDA Technical Assistance Programs
William Boyd, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service – Presentation
NRCS Conservation Practice Standard for Anaerobic Digesters
Experience with AD Systems – Part 1
Psychrophilic, covered lagoon: Mark Moser, RCM International – Presentation
Mesophilic, plug flow: Nick DuBois, Avatar – Presentation
Modified plug-flow systems: Steve Dvorak, DVO Inc. – Presentation
Mesophilic, completely mixed: Grant Grinstead, Northern Biogas
Joining the panel for questions and discussion was Bill Jorgenson, AGreen Energy
Experience with AD Systems – Part 2
Thermophilic, mixed: Michael Casper, Homeland Biogas Energy, LLC – Presentation
Dry fermentation: Tom Sonnleitner, University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh – Presentation
Food processing waste: Joe Kramer, Energy Center of Wisconsin – Presentation
Joining the panel for questions and discussion were Norma McDonald of Organic Waste Systems,
and Steve Sell, BIOFERM
11-05