On October 8, about 350 people spent the day at Chaput Family Farms, an 830-cow dairy operation in North Troy, Vermont. Reg and Mike Chaput opened up their farm to show off the farm's new methane digester, installed in August. The digester enables the dairy to produce not only milk, but also electricy - up to 1.6-milliion kilowatt hours a year.

According to a USDA release, Chaput's digester is the first to go online through Vermont's Standard Offer Program. The state will pay the farm a fixed price of 16 cents per kilowatt hour for the next 20 years. The farm will also receive a renewable energy credit of 4 cents per kWh for the next five years through Central Vermont Public Service's "Cow Power Program." The Chaput farm is the seventh to join Cow Power in Vermont.

The farm will produce all of its on-farm electricity, heat, hot water and bedding for the cows. It will sell the excess power to the local utility. The excess bedding will be sold to local farms.

In an interveiw with Vermont's Chronicle, Reg Chaput said the project cost $2 million and took three years to complete. He estimates the system will pay for itself in about three more years. PD

Related resources:
Read more about the open house from Vermont's the Chronicle:
Chaput farm will make energy, pg 1
Chaput farm will make energy, pg 2