There is a technology well known and used in other parts of the world that is largely ignored by North American residents.
Methane gas is chemically the same as natural gas but is derived from natural biological sources instead of drilled for in deep wells.
Decomposing natural material produce this flammable gas. One of the best sources of this methane gas is manure and specifically chicken manure.
To maximize production of this gas, requires a closed container kept at the optimum temperature and a system for capturing the gas and directing it to the point of use.
This is not some unproven theory. A Google search produced 286,000 results in 0.21 seconds Results include You tube videos of home made generators made from empty drums but also leads to Government funded pilot projects supervised by state Universities. There are also reports and photos of installations that not only provide fuel for on-site generators but document how methane is compressed and stored as fuel for vehicles.
An example from the first 10 results included this website
John Fry was a farmer who did pioneering work in documenting his own farm experiments back in the fifties. He wrote a white paper which to this day is considered a prime resource on how to set up your own methane digester.
Go here for a PDF copy
The Mid western states projects focused on large dairy herd operations and farm food factory operations. The documented results proved this can be a win-win situation. The large and smelly manure piles posed a disposal problem for the dairy farm operators, it was an objectionable source of smelly air pollution and used up valuable resources in time and money to store and transport what was considered a nuisance waste product.
Here is one example:
There is so much data available it would be difficult to get through the list in a day.
With 286,000 hits I doubt it will be possible.
Actually reading the reports would take weeks.
Research is not called for, but rather a practical application of what has already been proven and demonstrated. The wealth of data should also help convince government agencies of project viability. What is needed is willing participants.
Although the storage facility ( manure pile) is still present it now becomes a source of fuel gas that is used to drive generators for electrical energy and when compressed became fuel suited for the farm vehicles in portable containers. By creating their own electrical energy and vehicle fuel, considerable savings in operating costs were achieved.
The large documented pilot projects do provide information to calculate a return on investment ( ROI) but this may not be accurate when scaling back the size of the operation suited for individual homes.
Methane production is something that can be scaled to suit the location and source of manure. The system can be as simple as a couple of oil drums to contain the manure and capture the gases. See this You tube video for an example:
A good animation training clip is shown here:
When you view these video clips thee are many other choices available for viewing. Some come from other parts of the world and may not have English language translations. Several clips show engine running that have been modified to use methane instead of gasoline. Conversion kits are available starting at a couple of hundred Dollars.
These gas mixer boxes and injection valves are not hard to duplicate so once a sample is available more can be home made.
Another source of gas is shown here:
With as few as a dozen chickens enough methane gas could be produced to power a small generator for an hour or two run time to store enough electrical power in batteries to last a modest off grid home for one day.
Larger flocks or herds of cows and pigs could provide more raw material in the form of manure.
The white paper by John Fry does provide data on how many tons of manure is needed to create so many cubic meters of gas. This permits doing approximate calculations when scaling a project up or down for a given operation.
In Europe approximately 25,000 registered farm operations exist that generate methane gas yet the concept is virtually unknown by the general public here in north America .
A corollary project is the mechanical work needed to convert a regular gasoline fuelled engine. It is not very difficult but does requires basic mechanics skills. In the absence of knowledgeable people who are comfortable working on small motors a class could be set up. Having basic mechanics skills is a transferable skill that is usable in other applications. It is also essential for better self reliance
This lack of information about methane digesters illustrates how influential advertising by the petroleum industry and the electric power utilities can be. When you mention off-grid people automatically think solar or maybe wind. Again this is largely due to the national advertising campaigns aimed at southern or mid western American residents in the sun belt and wind swept prairies.
Although it is known by experts in the field it is not widely discussed that solar panels are not very effective in higher latitudes nor in areas having significant or prolonged cloud cover during winter months. The present solution for dealing with power outages in these areas is to run a generator fuelled by diesel or gasoline. The cost of solar panels is high enough that only very affluent home owners can even consider using solar to supplement or replace BC Hydro power. In areas of frequent outages and delayed repairs due to distance and access by storm blocked roads it is imperative to find viable alternatives.
For rural residents having flocks of chickens a methane digester may be one such viable alternative.
The project has to be done in stages.
Before starting a project it would be good to have an information seminar to familiarize people with what is involved and how they can participate and what they are likely to learn. More importantly it will illustrate how they can be empowered to be more self reliant and less dependent on the government.
The initial demonstration should be small scale to minimize cost and time to construct.
This will also be useful in demonstrating that it is not a big money, big business project. It will demonstrate that this is something local residents can take ownership of while offering them some self reliance in providing electric power.
Once the concept has been proven and people feel more confident about how they can become involved.
There are several technical options available. If the amount of manure is limited only so much methane gas can be produced. This in turn limits how long a generator can be run for.
An education program on energy conservation would be beneficial for everyone concerned. BC Hydro is already doing some public education campaigns to inform people on how to reduce their consumption of electrical energy but all too often this misses the mark because it is aimed at urban residents or else it is not seen as relevant to rural living.
Any informational seminars has to take into consideration what local conditions are like.
There was one campaign by BC HYDRO to get rid of the spare freezer in the garage or basement.
To northern residents accustomed to hunting moose or deer for food such a freezer may be used only part of the year so the campaign is not seen as relevant.
A better point would be to show how a freezer needs to have dwindling meat quantity replaced by bottles of water to keep it from cycling as frequently and finally when the meat is completely used up the freezer should be turned off until needed again.
Everyone has accepted the convenience of remote controls but fewer people are aware of just how much power is used in standby mode by these remotely operated devices when supposedly turned off. A simple power meter measurement can illustrate how much this adds up to on the Hydro bill. Few rural residents are even aware that such meters are now available at affordable prices ( $20)
A seminar can be held where various appliances can be measured to show exactly how much energy is used. This may convince residents to change their habits and use energy smart products instead. Regardless of how they derive their electrical power this will be beneficial to all.
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