Starting later this summer, people across Connecticut might be getting their natural gas from cow manure.
It's been nearly eight years since Oakridge Dairy Farm in Ellington began the process of creating a methane digester.
"To see it finally producing gas and into the pipeline is really exciting," said Seth Bahler.
The family farm that dates back to 1908 is the first in Connecticut to install a methane digester, which converts manure into natural gas.
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But how does it work?
"It’s in this tank, there’s micro bugs in there that are eating all that energy turning it into a methane gas then from that methane gas what comes out is a raw gas and then we put it through a refining process," Bahler explained.
From there, the team will pull the gas off the top of the methane digester then put it through a process where it's cleaned. After that, it goes into a tanker filled with natural compressed gas every other day.
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"The end product would be a pipeline quality gas, which will be injected right into the pipeline to be used in homes in cars and vehicles all over Connecticut and actually beyond that," Bahler added.
To put it into perspective, the renewable energy could power about 800 to 900 cars, all from one year's worth of gas production.
Bahler, who runs the property, believes this is a win-win for the farm and the community.
"Will be supplying not only safe and healthy food, but natural gas into the local pipeline," he said.
"Looking into the future of going carbon neutral and trying to be a sustainable farm this one huge step for us to go into the future," Bahler added.
And what would Bahler's great great grandfather who started the farm say? "A lot of things we do today for sustainable agriculture my great great grandpa would probably not even believe it."
