REC Profile - Reinford Farm

The Dominion Green Power® program supports a number of renewable facilities within our regional power pool. The purchase of RECs from these facilities provides a vital income stream for furthering the development of renewable energy.

One of the facilities supported through the program is the Reinford Farms Livestock Biogas facility located in Mifflentown, Pennsylvania. The 900-acre Reinford Farm has been owned and operated by the Reinford family since 1993, carrying on the family’s long tradition of farming in the area.

During the winter of 2008 the family brought online a new livestock biogas system that uses methane released from the farm’s cow manure to generate renewable energy. The hard work involved in building and managing the livestock biogas system has paid off. The family sells the electricity and the Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) it produces, and also uses the system to reduce costs and increase revenues in other ways.

Designed by RCM Digesters of Berkeley, California, the livestock biogas system moves manure produced by the farm’s 440 milking cows and 50 dry cows to a tank, where methane gas released by the manure is collected. This biogas is then piped to a 1200 rpm Caterpillar G342 engine coupled to a 250-volt AC, 60-hertz, single-phase 130 kW generator, where it is combusted to produce both electricity and heat.

On an average day the system generates 3,000 kWh of electricity, which is delivered straight to the power grid. In addition, the system produces heat that the Reinfords use for their home, milking parlor, and other buildings on the farm. The family also uses this heat to pasteurize raw milk that is fed to new-born calves - resulting in healthier young cows - and to dry corn that is raised at the farm for feed.

As an added benefit, the system produces sterilized solid waste that can serve as bedding for cows. The Reinfords use this bedding themselves and also sell to neighboring farmers. Switching to this bacteria-free bedding has led to an unforeseen benefit. Since the Reinford family began using it at their farm, bacteria levels in their milk have gone down 50 percent.

Drew Reinford, the family member responsible for building and managing the system, has some advice to other farmers who are considering installing livestock biogas systems. “Don’t expect to just sit back and let the system run after you install it. It is difficult for a livestock biogas system to pay for itself if you don’t find ways for it to generate revenues or savings outside of those from the electricity it produces.” He adds that he expects the system to pay for itself in five to six years.

As far as REC revenues, Drew says they make a real difference. “Economically, it can be difficult to run a small family farm. The steady monthly income that comes from the RECs helps us pay for upkeep and repairs to the biogas equipment and justify the time I and others spend managing the system.”

Roof Racks Rock!

I have to admit, I’m jealous of people with roof racks. I don’t know what it is, but there’s something cool and trendy about having rugged outdoor gear strapped to the roof of a vehicle. It’s as if your ride is saying, “Hey, the person driving is into outdoor adventure, come join.” And I seem to salivate at the thought of zipping through single track mountain bike trails or ripping through the wild currents of a white water kayaking trip.

So to all the people with trendy roof racks, I have some good news and some bad news.

Good News: I think you look cool, and I want to join whatever you’re doing. Your roof rack is a great system to transport gear and as you know, they’re very reliable.

Now the Bad News: You’re killing your gas mileage. I understand the purpose when you’re transporting gear, but when you’re not (like kayak roof racks in February), you’re sacrificing gas mileage.

According to fueleconomy.gov, a fully loaded roof rack can reduce your gas mileage by 5%. At $3.70 per gallon for gas, it adds up fast. Even having a roof rack that’s not loaded can still reduce your gas mileage.

A quick math check says that if your car eco friendly car gets 35mpg and has a 12 gallon tank, you can drive about 420 miles on a tank. But with the full roof rack, you will get less than 400 miles from the same tank.

And for the folks like me without a roof rack, storing all of the off season gear in your trunk isn’t the best option either. An extra 100 lbs of gear in the truck reduces a typical car’s fuel economy by about 1-2 percent (fueleconomy.gov). That’s enough to make me unload the car when I’m done.

Chic CFLs? Odd but True

The energy efficient light bulb has entered into a whole new arena thanks to British company, Plumen. In my three years promoting energy efficiency, I have heard the compact fluorescent light bulb (CFL) described in many many ways, but chic? Never.

A new product is on the market that won the Brit Insurance Designs of the Year 2011 award. It beat 90 other entries including the Apple iPad! Interested yet? I would like to introduce you to the Plumen 001 - the world’s first “designer” energy saving light bulb. Now there’s a sentence I thought I would never write.

The bulb is currently selling for about $30, but honestly it looks so cool on its own that you probably won’t even want a lampshade to cover it. The aesthetically interesting bulb not only pleases the eye, but the wallet.

It has the same energy efficient benefits as other CFLs and Plumen even claims it has less mercury than other CFLs.

If your bulb ever burns out, you can send it back to the company (or the store where purchased) and they will recycle it for you. As of May 2011, the Plumen 001 (110v only) is available for purchase in the United States at a couple of select stores in NYC, and on the company website.

I’m curious to see how the normal (i.e. not living and breathing energy efficiency everyday) public reacts to the bulb, but I’m a sucker for things like this. I think I might just have to jump on the designer CFL bandwagon.

Sun Tubes

When I was growing up in Richmond, my favorite place to go in the summer (aside from the Science Museum to play Oregon Trail of course) was the Children’s Museum. The best area by far was the grocery store.

I could spend hours in there (I’m pretty sure my mother had to drag me away a few times). While other kids were dreaming of one day becoming an astronaut, a firefighter, even a princess, I dreamed of working in fast food so I could play with the cash register. Big aspirations I know.

A lot of things have changed since those days and I’m not just talking about my neon clothes, hair scrunchies and jelly sandals.

The Children’s Museum has definitely evolved over the years with new, exciting, and much more advanced interactive areas. They’re teaching kids about issues that will really impact their lives, and helping create better habits early on.

Recently my old “career” and new career intersected with the new Dominion Solar Energy Exhibit at the museum.

Through a donation from the Dominion Foundation, the Children’s Museum of Richmond developed an interactive exhibit powered by solar panels on the museum’s roof.

Museum visitors insert colored scarves into a maze of clear tubes. The scarves go through the tubing and exit the exhibit floating to the floor. A video describes the process of harvesting the sun’s energy through photovoltaic panels, the conversion of that energy to electricity, and how that power makes air move throughout the exhibit to propel the scarves to the exit above.

The video also touches on the benefits of solar energy. Visitors will also be able to track the Kilowatt per hour and see how things like clouds, or the angle of the sun, can affect the energy generated.

Check out the exhibit at the Central Children’s Museum of Richmond location and let us know what you think!

2626 W. Broad St., Richmond, VA
Open 7 days a week, 9:30 AM – 5 PM