state watch
WASHINGTON
MASSACHUSETTS
NEW HAMPSHIRE
NEW JERSEY
NEW YORK
COW-POWERED GAS AND ELECTRICITY, TOO
OUTLOOK, WA -An enterprising dairy here is
teaming up with Seattle's Promus Energy to connect
an existing biogas digester to the Williams Northwest Pipeline so that it can turn the waste from its
3,150 cows into pipeline-quality renewable natural
gas for use as transportation fuel. George DeRuyter
and Sons Dairy installed its $3.8 million digester
system in 2006. Since that time, the company has
been converting cow manure into electricity, creating
enough juice to power 600 to 800 local homes. As
the rates paid to DeRuyter for electricity fell to half
16
AMERICAN GAS AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2014
their original price, however, the venture no longer
proved profitable. Promus and DeRuyter are engaging
private funding and support from Yakima County and
the state's Clean Energy Fund to install a 3.7-mile
pipe connecting his property to the Williams supply
line, as well as a scrubber to clean the gas to pipeline
standards. In all, the project will cost about $12
million. The pipeline from DeRuyter's digester will be
equipped with access points so that five other dairies
in the Yakima County area can easily connect in the
future if they install digesters. -Gary James
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Gas - August/September 2014