01/28/05 Digester operational, another is planned

Intrepid Technology of Idaho Falls says its flagship methane anaerobic digester is fully operational. The two-tank digester at the four thousand head Whitesides Dairy in Rupert is processing manure into substantial quantities of methane gas. Intrepid Vice President Brad Frazee says they'll soon use that methane to displace the propane the dairy has to buy for its heating needs. FRAZEE "Within the next month we're going to confirm out gas production rate. We expect by this spring that we'll have pipeline quality gas. We'll be in a position to sell that gas to our customers out there." Intrepid has just announced that it is going to build a second dairy farm digester. The West Point Dairy in Wendell could see the start of construction before the end of this year. FRAZEE "That's a six thousand head freestall. That project will be three times the size of Whitesides. It will have approximately twelve digesters on there versus the four digesters that we'll finally have at Whitesides." Intrepid plans to sell the excess gas to a pipeline carrier but it will also use some of it at its compressed natural gas filling station in Idaho Falls, the first commercial station in the US to dispense gas produced from a waste product for car and truck use. Today's Idaho Ag News Bill Scott