The Farm Manure-to-Energy Initiative in the Chesapeake Bay region is helping farmers demonstrate and evaluate the performance thermal technologies that convert surplus poultry litter to electricity or heat.
Case studies conducted from 2012-2015 evaluated four technologies on five working farms in areas of the Chesapeake watershed where manure management is especially important for protecting water quality.
- Bio-Burner 500 in Rockingham County, VA
- Global Re-Fuel Furnace in Lancaster County, PA, and Pendleton County, WV
- Blue Flame Boiler in Snyder County, PA
- Ecoremedy Gasifier in Lancaster County, PA
The systems were evaluated for technical, environmental, and financial performance. Detailed information on the results of the evaluations can be found in the 2016 Final Report. Project leaders include National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, Chesapeake Bay Funders Network, Farm Pilot Project Coordination, Inc., Sustainable Chesapeake, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, University of Maryland Environmental Finance Center, Virginia Cooperative Extension, Lancaster County Conservation District (of Pennsylvania), Virginia Tech Eastern Shore Agricultural Research and Extension Center, and the Eastern Shore Resource Conservation & Development Council.
For more information, please contact Kristen Hughes Evans of Sustainable Chesapeake at Kristen@susches.org.