Cowpower
Introduction
Launched in 2012, the mission of this program is to enable farmers to build economically viable anaerobic digesters throughout British Columbia.
How does it work?
A not-for-profit program that provides its customers with an easy and direct way to support local agriculture, while also increasing their environmental sustainability. This is achieved by enabling BC farmers to build anaerobic digesters that convert organic waste into renewable electricity.
When customers sign-up, they pay 4 cents for every kilowatt-hour of renewable electricity they want farmers to inject into BC's electricity grid (to match 25%, 50% or 100% of the electricity your home, business or event consumes). For every kilowatt-hour injected into the grid, farmers are paid for the environmental benefits that result from the electricity production. These benefits include reduced greenhouse gas and odour emissions, increased water and food safety, increased environmental protection and support of the agricultural industry.
If not enough kilowatt-hours are produced to meet demand, customer payments are deposited into the Anaerobic Digestion Development Fund. Overseen by an independent board, this Fund provides incentives to enable BC farmers to build new anaerobic digesters. As a not-for-profit, 100% of customer payments are used to support anaerobic digesters in BC.
Making the choice to get involved is easy. It only takes a few minutes to sign-up online, there is no sign-up fee and you don’t need any special equipment or wiring.
For more information, visit www.cowpowerbc.com
