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Agriculture Businesses and Energy Costs: Strategies for Saving
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Growers, farmers and people in related agri-businesses are invited to attend a seminar sponsored by Cornell Cooperative Extension of Ontario County and New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) on Tuesday, February 2, 2006 from 8 to 10 a.m. at the Extension Center, 480 North Main Street, Canandaigua, New York. This program is free of charge to the public.
Matt Griffiths of the Genesee / Finger Lakes Regional Planning Council is one of nine regional coordinators for NYSERDA's NY Energy $mart Communities program. Matt will provide an overview of NYSERDA's technical assistance and financial incentive programs for energy efficiency in agriculture. He encourages local agricultural business owners to look to energy efficiency as a means of creating sustainable business practices during times of rising energy costs.
David Ludington, President of DL Tech, Inc., will provide examples of agricultural energy audits through NYSERDA's Flex Tech Program. As one of NYSERDA's pre-approved technical assistance consultants, DL Tech has conducted hundreds of Energy Audits under 50:50 cost sharing through NYSERDA's FlexTech Assistance Program. In 2003 DL Tech conducted energy audits on 32 dairy farms across central and northern New York. Variable speed drives on vacuum pumps & milking operations, refrigeration heat recovery, plate milk pre-coolers and energy-efficient lighting are the common energy conservation measures that will be discussed.
Ram Shrivastava, President and CEO of Larsen Engineers, will make a presentation on how to use farm wastes to produce clean renewable energy. Larsen has worked with anaerobic technology to generate biogas from high-strength organic waste since 1984. Over 20 projects have been completed that treated a variety of industrial, food processing, and landfill leachate wastes where biogas is generated as a renewable source of energy using anaerobic filter technology. This technology offers the potential to treat
wastewater and solid residues, such as animal manure, and generate valuable energy through a biological
process. In addition, the digested solids provide a natural fertilizer for application to the land. Methane is the fuel of the future, and Larsen is very actively looking into power generation using microturbines that operate on biogas fuels.
Because space is limited, pre-registration is required by calling (585) 394-3977 x 38 by January 26, 2006.
In the event of cancellation or closing, please contact CCE (585) 394-3977 and/or listen to any of the following radio stations: WYLF (am radio 850), WHAM (am radio 1180), and SUNNY 102.3 FM.
Cornell Cooperative Extension of Ontario County helps to inform residents about ways they can save on energy costs.
To learn about energy-saving tips for your home and business, visit the New York Energy $martSM
Website, www.GetEnergySmart.org or call 1-877-NY-SMART.
The New York Energy $mart SM Program is provided via a partnership between the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) and the Public Service Commission (PSC).
Other helpful websites for managing energy costs are:
New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) webpage at http://www.nyserda.org/default.asp
US Department of Energy, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy webpage at http://www.eere.energy.gov/
Cornell Cooperative Extension is a non-profit educational organization with a mission to extend new knowledge and research based information in agriculture, family and consumer sciences from Cornell University. Residents with concerns or questions related to agriculture, horticulture, water quality, recycling, youth development, parenting, nutrition, or family financial management can call 585-394-3977 or visit http://counties.cce.cornell.edu/ontario/
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