People don’t normally think of dairy farms as being on the cutting edge of technology advancements, but one dairy farm in eastern Oregon is breaking the stereotype. With the help of NW Natural’s Smart Energy program and the Bonneville Environmental Foundation, Threemile Canyon Farms is building a first-of-its-kind biodigester to reduce the carbon dioxide emitted from cow manure.

Cars on the road, heating and lighting our homes all contribute to carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, but the methane from cow manure is a 21 times more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide. (HINT: This statement should help you answer one of the current Smart Energy Challenge questions. (Submit your guess here.)

A biodigester is an enclosure that traps methane produced by bacteria which breaks down organic matter – essentially waste. The resulting product, biogas, can be used in place of natural gas or propane for a variety of functions.

In short, when organic material decomposes, it emits methane – which is approximately 21 times more potent of the greenhouse gas effect than carbon dioxide. A biodigester speeds up decomposition and captures the methane, protecting the environment.

The biodigester is expected to be fully constructed by the fall of 2009. The project is expected to reduce nearly 1,500 tons of CO2 annually – using the waste of 1,200 cows that produce roughly 144,000 pounds of manure per day!

The farm is located on 93,000 acres and combines both crop farming and dairy operations. Because of its size, Threemile Canyon Farms is an excellent testing ground for new technologies like biodigesters. A functioning biodigester at Threemile Canyon Farms has great potential to become a model for other farms throughout the region.

Check out this photo of the progress that’s been made so far:

The lagoon

May not look like much now, but this is the type of innovative projects that are leading the way to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and create alternative energy sources.

We think it’s time for the cows to come home in the fight against climate change.

With Smart Energy, NW Natural has proudly become the first local gas distribution company in the nation to launch a carbon offset program. Smart Energy was developed as a five-year pilot program that offers NW Natural customers an opportunity to reduce their carbon footprint by offsetting their natural gas use. The average NW Natural customer’s gas usage generates about four tons of carbon dioxide each year. Smart Energy helps offset and neutralize that carbon dioxide emission that leading scientists around the world have linked to climate change.

For about the cost of a latte per month, NW Natural customers can participate in Smart Energy and help support local projects that are having a positive effect on the environment. These projects include innovative initiatives such as capturing methane gas from cow manure to keep it out of the atmosphere, where it is a 21 times more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide. The captured methane can also be used as a renewable energy source.

Biogas from cow manure is still in its infancy, but realizing the possibilities and working to make it a reality is exactly what the Smart Energy program is designed to do.

While the focus of Smart Energy is to develop biogas for its carbon reduction benefits, it offers other compelling advantages for local farm communities. Biogas projects allow farmers to manage their manure in a way that protects the environment, minimize farm odors, and can help provide new sources of revenues for dairy farmers in our region.

Investment in the Environment

NW Natural does not profit from funds raised through Smart Energy. The money is used to fund greenhouse gas reduction projects, to educate customers about the program, and for the administration of the project through The Climate Trust, a leading non-profit organization and one of the largest institutional purchasers of offsets in the United States. The Climate Trust, which manages Smart Energy funds, supports innovative strategies to reduce, avoid, or capture greenhouse gas emissions.

Smart Energy is only part of the total solution for reducing greenhouse gases. The first step is to conserve energy by being more efficient and reducing our consumption. One of the goals with Smart Energy is to use less and offset the rest.

In fact, because of energy efficiency improvements, natural gas customers have reduced their household consumption so dramatically that there has been virtually no growth in emissions in nearly three decades, despite a 70 percent increase in households using natural gas. (HINT ALERT: This statement should help you answer one of the current Smart Energy Challenge questions. Click here to enter your guess today!)

At NW Natural, we’re offsetting the carbon dioxide emissions created by the natural gas used to heat all of our facilities throughout the five year Smart Energy pilot program, totaling a reduction of 6,160 tons of carbon dioxide.

If you’re curious about how you or your business can sign up for Smart Energy, more information is available here.

Everyone knows what an IQ is – it tells you how smart you are, of course. But what’s a BioIQ? We coined the term (short for Biogas IQ) here at NW Natural to help our customers learn more about important topics including climate change, energy efficiency and NWNatural’s Smart Energy program. Now you can increase your BioIQ, become a more sustainable “smarty” and help the planet all at the same time.

What’s so important about Smart Energy? Well, it’s a first-of-its-kind carbon offset program in Oregon designed to support development of renewable energy projects and reduce greenhouse gas emissions in our region, which helps fight climate change. Thanks to support from Smart Energy participants, one of the first renewable energy projects we’re working on is using cow manure waste from an Oregon dairy farm and turning it into biogas, hence the Biogas IQ term.

To increase your BioIQ, we’re hosting the Smart Energy Challenge this summer. Sign up today (free!) at www.smartenergychallenge.com. It’s easy to participate – every two weeks, we’ll ask a challenge question related to things like climate change, energy efficiency and the environment. Each challenge you complete will increase your BioIQ score and better your chances of winning the grand prize. The grand prize is a five-day, four-night stay at Crater Lake Lodge complete with four mountain bikes (to keep!), four cross-country ski packages (yours, forever!) , a hybrid SUV rental and spending money(for the trip!). Three other lucky winners will receive an energy efficient tankless water heater plus installation.

We’re also giving Smart Energy customers another chance to win. If you enroll in Smart Energy before the last challenge ends, you will be automatically granted one entry in the Smart Energy Challenge.

The Smart Energy Challenge continues through October 15. To get you started, we’ll give you a hint to one of the questions in this current challenge:

QUESTION: In Oregon, what nonprofit organization provides incentives and other services to reduce energy use for NW Natural customers?

HINT: Since 2003, NW Natural has partnered with this organization to help customers save enough natural gas to heat 18,300 homes annually.

Be sure to enter your guess today at www.smartenergynw.com/challenge and tell us what you think!