New York's Dairy Manure Boosts Renewable Bioenergy

By Blake Jackson

New York State has seen 12% of its dairy herds adopt manure anaerobic digestion (AD) for biomethane production, a process that offers significant greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions valued under California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard.

This highlights the potential of bioenergy in achieving New York's climate targets and transitioning to a circular bioeconomy.

Anaerobic digestion of manure and food waste is complementary, producing energy and recovering nutrients crucial for soil health and fertility.

Current practices, such as landfilling organics and traditional manure management, contribute over 25% of New York’s anthropogenic methane emissions. Well-designed bioenergy systems capture this methane, transforming it into a valuable, non-fossil fuel energy source.

This industry creates distributed job opportunities in rural, populated, and disadvantaged communities, including construction, operations, maintenance, and engineering roles.

Commercially available bioenergy technology is scalable, with ongoing innovation enhancing energy recovery. The value of organic resources from the food and agriculture system is expected to increase.

Biomethane from New York’s dairy manure and food waste could fuel over 30,000 tractor trailers annually, displacing at least 300 million gallons of diesel.

To encourage homegrown renewable energy in New York, several strategies are proposed:

• Develop a competitive market within New York by valuing lifecycle GHG reductions and energy output.
• Maximize methane capture through high-quality system design, equipment, construction, and ongoing maintenance.
• Enable simple and science-based GHG accounting for food processing and consumption waste diverted from landfills to AD.
• Consider utilizing steady and controllable bioenergy sources to meet net-zero targets.
• Allow haulers to diversify their fleets with CNG engines (utilizing biomethane), biodiesel engines, electric motors, and other technologies.
• Create workforce training programs and enhance public education on bioenergy technologies.

These measures would help New York fully leverage its organic resources, reduce emissions, and build a sustainable bioeconomy.

Photo Credit: gettyimages-artistgndphotography