Check here for cow power

Picture this: You get your next electricity bill and to your surprise it looks a little different. That’s because just below where the total you owe is — there is a new little check box. Next to the box it says “Cow Power.”

This same scenario happened to the 159,000 customers of Central Vermont Public Service (CVPS.) With the addition of a handful of on-farm methane digesters in the state of Vermont, the power utility CVPS instrumented a new Cow Power program. David Dunn, who works with the program at CVPS, discussed the program during The Dairy Practices Council’s 40th annual meeting held recently in Albany, N.Y.

Customers who check the box offer to pay 16 cents per kilowatt-hour on their electricity bill to support the project. That hefty price tag for energy doesn’t go to the CEO of the power company either. Most of the savings go directly to the farms that produce the energy. This way, farms receive a price that provides a better economic incentive to continue to produce energy from manure. In all, 3,800 of 159,000 customers have opted to pay the higher price. That’s only a humble 2.3 percent of their total customers. However, that small percentage has meant the program can pay farms a decent price, in addition to funding about a half-dozen more digesters that are in the works and set to start producing power in the next year. One customer, Green Mountain College, checked into the Cow Power program and has generated nearly $48,000 for the program. The college’s participation has even garnered a plethora of media attention because of this new commitment to “green” renewable energy.

To find out more about CVPS’s unique Cow Power program, you can visit its website here.