Making silk purses out of sows’ ears: first carbon farming piggery registered

Twenty-two thousand pigs produce rather a lot of manure. Rather than just seeing manure as waste to be disposed of, pig farmers Edwina and Michael Beveridge are turning their farm’s manure into energy.

By covering their effluent ponds to capture the methane gas produced by the manure, the Beveridges are able to convert the methane into electricity using a biogas generator. Their business, Blantyre Farms, is the first Australian carbon farming piggery to be registered under the federal government’s Carbon Farming Initiative.

Mark Dreyfus, Parliamentary Secretary for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency, and Andrew Spencer, CEO of Australian Pork, were present to launch the newly registered farm in Young on 25 October.

“Blantyre Farms is the first approved piggery project under the federal government’s Carbon Farming Initiative and is successfully turning waste and greenhouse gases into clean energy,” said Dreyfus.

“Heat from the generator is also being used to keep the baby piglets warm in their sheds,” Dreyfus said. “Innovative local Brisbane company Quantum Power developed the technology and built the equipment for the project.”

According to Edwina Beveridge, the CFI project has reduced the farm’s monthly electricity bill from $15,000 to zero. The farm also earns $5000 a month selling electricity back to the grid.

“Our methane digestion system is expected to pay for itself in three years. This makes good financial sense for our farm and is an investment in a healthier environment,” she said.

The CFI project uses the Destruction of Methane Generated from Manure in Piggeries methodology determination, developed in collaboration with the Australian Government, the pork industry and scientists. The four CFI methodology determinations that have been made include:

• the permanent environmental plantings of native tree species;
• the destruction of methane generated from manure in piggeries;
• savannah burning; and,
• the capture and combustion of landfill gas.

There are three other methodology determinations and more than 40 under consideration, including a dairy methodology for cow manure. Four landfill gas projects have recently been approved.

Landholders wishing to apply for projects under the Carbon Farming Initiative should contact the Clean Energy Regulator, who can advise on the requirements for successful applications. An overview of the Carbon Farming Initiative is available on the Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency website.