Idaho State energy czar Paul Kjellander sees BTUs where other see Cow $#!+ and he hopes to get others to see it his way.  As head of Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otters Office of Energy Resources, Kjellander is pushing a package of income tax credits, property tax waivers and other incentives in the 2009 Legislature starting Jan. 12 to transform Idahos southern heartland into a methane Mecca.

 

That odor wafting from 550,000 cows that make up Idahos growing dairy herd smells like energy independence and economic development to state energy czar Paul Kjellander.

That odor wafting from 550,000 cows that make up Idaho's growing dairy herd smells like energy independence and economic development to state energy czar Paul Kjellander.

 With over half a million cows and ranking 3rd in dairy production, there is definitely a lot of manure.  This contributes greatly to agriculture being the third largest producer of methane in the US.  Methane by volume has 25 times the greenhouse effect as CO2 on climate and is second to CO2 in greenhouse gas contribution to global climate change.

Minneapolis-based Cargill Inc. soon aims to sell electricity from its $8.5 million, 2.25 megawatt digester and generator facility at the 10,000-cow Bettencourt Dairy in Hansen to Idaho Power Co., the state’s largest utility.

This is the agricultural conglomerate’s first such project, but Cargill has another southern Idaho plant due to open in 2009. It’s also exploring similar endeavors in neighboring Washington, Oregon, New Mexico, California, Texas, New York and Indiana, said Craig Maetzold, Cargill Environmental Finance’s operations manager.

“We believe the credits in renewable energy are only going to increase in value in the future,” Maetzold said.

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