July 9, 2016

Fair Oaks Farm Harnesses the Power of Natural Gas from Cow Manure (Text Version)

This is a text version of the video segment Fair Oaks Farm Harnesses the Power of Natural Gas from Cow Manure, which aired on July 9, 2016.

JOHN DAVIS: Our success story this week takes us to Fair Oaks Farms in Fair Oaks, Indiana, where things run on the power of poo.

Here, cow manure isn't waste but a valuable commodity. Once collected, it's put into a biodigester where methane is harnessed.

The gas is purified and then piped over and compressed at this fill station owned by ampCNG, a U.S. Department of Energy National Clean Fleets partner.

More than enough renewable CNG is produced at Fair Oaks Farms to fill up a fleet of 42 milk haulers—displacing 1.5 million gallons of diesel each year.

GRANT ZIMMERMAN: We can reduce NOx, which is essentially smog-causing pollutants, by 90% or better.

JOHN DAVIS: The station was built with the help from the Greater Indiana Clean Cities Coalition—proving that cows can contribute much more than just milk to the long haul.