Oct. 21--WESTMINSTER -- About four years ago, Shawn Goodell looked out across the manure pond on his family's farm and knew there would have to be changes made.

Environmentalists said that cow manure was one of the largest contributors to greenhouse gases and the state began to crack down on manure runoff, which was being blamed for polluting rivers.

So Goodell decided to look into the possibility of changing that environmental liability into an environmental asset.

On Tuesday, Goodell and the rest of his family hosted a crowd of energy and agricultural experts from all over the state to show off Vermont's newest methane plant.

Westminster Farms is the latest Vermont dairy operation to open an anaerobic digester that breaks down the farm's manure into methane gas which generates electricity.

"I knew they were going to make us cover it anyway and that's what we did," he said. "It seemed to be a no brainer. I hope this can be a model for other farms, both large and small."

Since July, Westminster Farms has been producing about 225 kilowatts of electricity, enough to power 250 homes every day.

The Westminster plant is the seventh digester in Vermont and the first for Green Mountain Power, which has been trying to boost its portfolio of green energy projects by investing in solar, wind and other alternative sources.

Green Mountain Power CEO Mary Powell, who was at the farm, said the company settled on a seven-year

contract with the Goodells to give the farm a stable income source in the face of fluctuating milk prices.

"This project is going to give the farm income they can count on, she said. "This gives us another renewable and stable source of electricity."

Goodell said the $1.5 million project wouldn't have happened without the federal and state grants.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture gave more than $707,000 in grants and loan guarantees, and the Vermont Clean Energy Development Fund provided $250,000.

Gov. Jim Douglas and Public Service Commissioner David O'Brien both came to Westminster for the grand opening.

Douglas recognized the family's stewardship for keeping the manure runoff out of the water while making good use of a farm commodity. And he said the digester strengthens the state's commitment to clean energy.

"It took a lot of risk to make this a reality," Douglas said. "This is going to give the farm a source of income as the dairy industry is going through challenges."

It took almost three years for the family to apply for the grants and permits and see the project through.

They put up the buildings and Goodell said some of the most challenging parts of the project were the permitting delays, which ended up costing the family more in lawyers' fees than originally budgeted.

Along with the income from selling the electricity to GMP, the Goodells will be able to use the leftover solids as bedding and they hope to save about $80,000 a year in sawdust purchases.

The heat from the engines is also contained in a closed system and Goodell hopes to save about 4,000 gallons of oil each year.

Howard Weiss-Tisman can be reached at hwtisman@reformer.com or 802-254-2311 ext. 279.

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