7-23 IAN Anaerobic digestion

 The Idaho Public Utilities Commission is taking public comment on a request by Idaho Power Company to enter into power sales agreements with the developer of three Magic Valley anaerobic digester power projects.  Anaerobic digestion is a biological process that produces a gas principally composed of methane and carbon dioxide otherwise known as biogas. These gases, produced from organic wastes such as livestock manure and food processing waste, are converted into electric energy. But is this concept viable?

Here’s Idaho Power Commission spokesman Gene Fadness: “The utility wouldn’t have entered a contract if we weren’t confident the anaerobic digestion process would produce the amount of electricity the contractor said it would.The projects are a 4-megawatt operation at the Rock Creek Dairy project near Filer and the 2-megawatt Swager Farms Dairy project near Buhl. There’s also a 2-megawatt Double B Dairy project near Murtaugh in Cassia County.