Cowpower is a not-for-profit that helps BC farmers turn manure and food waste into clean, renewable electricity. By capturing methane from manure and food waste, Cowpower creates a better kind of clean, renewable electricity that reduces greenhouse gas emissions, strengthens local farming, enhances environmental protection, diverts food waste from landfills, increases water and food safety, and reduces farm odour.

We tried – but it doesn’t make sense to run extension cords from BC farms to your home or office. So instead of getting electricity directly from BC farms, Cowpower farmers simply inject clean, renewable electricity onto BC’s energy grid to match the electricity your business, home or event uses. It’s a form of offsetting that allows you to feel good about your electricity use, while also reducing your environmental footprint and supporting sustainable local farming. No special equipment or wiring is needed, and it only takes a few minutes to sign-up.

Cowpower already helps one farm in Abbotsford convert manure and food waste into renewable electricity, while reducing greenhouse gas emissions by over 150t/yr. Our goal is to support 50 BC farms to convert manure from 30,000 cows and food waste into clean renewable electricity to power 13,000 BC businesses, homes and events, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 45,000 tonnes a year.

Problem

Farming produces manure and food waste. When stored or disposed of in landfills, manure and food waste represents a cost to farmers, emits greenhouse gas emissions, and can pose a risk to local soil and water quality. Furthermore, if manure is land-applied incorrectly, harmful levels of nutrients and pathogens can end up in local soil and water resources, causing harm to aquifers and local aquatic ecosystems.

Solution

Cowpower supports BC farmers to build Waste-2-Energy systems (called anaerobic digesters) that capture methane produced by manure and food waste to create a better kind of renewable electricity that reduces greenhouse gas and odour emissions, diverts waste from landfills, increases water and food safety, enhances environmental protection and strengthens local farming.

Example

Cowpower enables BC’s businesses, homes and events to improve their environmental sustainability and support sustainable local farming by injecting renewable electricity onto BC’s energy grid from Waste-2-Energy systems to match a percentage of the electricity their business, home or event uses. Payments to Cowpower for clean renewable electricity, which are made separately and in addition to utility service payments (e.g. BC Hydro), are used to support BC farmers build Waste-2-Energy systems.

Marketplace

Bullfrog Power also supports renewable electricity generation in BC. However, while Cowpower and Bullfrog operate in the same marketplace, the technology they support is very different. Livestock farming can have a negative impact on the environment. Unlike other renewable energy technologies, such as wind turbines, Cowpower’s Waste-2-Energy systems reduce these impacts by producing renewable electricity that: 1. Reduces greenhouse gas emissions; 2. Strengthens local farming; 3. Enhances environmental protection; 4. Diverts waste from landfills; 5. Increases water and food safety; and 6. Reduces odours. Furthermore, Cowpower only supports farm-based projects that are owned by local farmers and is a not-for-profit.