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Washington, DC: The Agriculture Department is launching its first-ever national survey of on-farm energy production this week, as the agency looks for new opportunities to promote farm-based renewable energy projects. The new survey of the 20,000 American farms using methane digesters, solar panels and wind turbines is part of a larger effort from the Obama administration to promote rural energy production.
Officials from USDA and U.S. EPA also signed an interagency agreement yesterday to expand their efforts to help farmers start energy projects by capturing methane from their livestock operations. And the White House will bring in rural stakeholders for a "clean energy economy forum" tomorrow. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Council on Environmental Quality Chairwoman Nancy Sutley will host the forum, intended to highlight opportunities for biofuels and other renewable energy projects in rural areas.
The new interagency agreement from EPA and USDA expands the AgSTAR program, founded in 1993 to support and encourage the development of methane recovery technologies. Digesters allow farmers to collect waste from cows or other livestock and use the methane to generate electricity. As farmers face high energy costs and fluctuating milk prices, digester projects are multiplying nationwide -- from 15 a decade ago to 150 today, U.S. EPA said. The agreement from EPA and USDA outlines a strategy for the two agencies to ramp up their technical support, outreach and marketing campaigns to promote the technology among livestock owners. It provides nearly $4 million over the next five years for the effort.
EPA estimates there are 8,000 farms across the United States that are good candidates for capturing and using biogas. If all of those farms implemented a biogas system, the agency says methane emissions would be reduced by more than 34 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent a year, roughly equal to the annual emissions from 6.5 million passenger vehicles. The projects could generate more than 1,500 megawatts of renewable energy, according to EPA.
In a statement announcing the agreement, EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson highlighted its potential benefits for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Jackson has repeatedly said the agency is not considering any new regulations to cap emissions from farms, but the digesters allow farmers to do so voluntarily. "We want to seize every opportunity to confront climate change and move into the clean economy of the future. This is a smart way to transform what would be a harmful greenhouse pollutant into a source of renewable energy -- and make a profit for American farmers," Jackson said in a statement.
USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service also launched a new national survey this week, intended to gather more information on how farmers generate and use the energy from methane digesters, solar panels or wind turbines on their operations. The department's 2007 Census of Agriculture found that 20,000 farmers are generating energy. The new survey is the first step in following up on that census to gain more information on the projects. |
