On May 6, we had the opportunity to make a virtual presentation of biogas at the annual Vermont Organics Recycling Summit (VORS). Despite some initial technical glitches (!) and with the help of the Director of the Composting Association of Vermont, Natasha Duarte and our friend Brent Lehouiller of Agricycle Energy, we were able to present our ideas. Essentially, we proposed partnering farm digesters with Vermont’s compost companies.
Most farm digesters separate their solids, making more than they need. We suggested selling these excess solids which are an excellent holding material for compost, and trucking them off the farm. Moving these solids is beneficial because it eliminates some of the phosphorus runoff that causes water quality issues in the Lake Champlain watershed.
To increase income, it is also possible to partially or fully compost digested solids at the farm then sell them for a higher price. Below is our presentation including a handoff from Brent to Jim Muir.