Charged my Model S with cow manure today

[DMC-Orangeville]

Here in VT we have a number of methane generators that have been installed on large dairy farms by our utility. The irony is that this is another form of fossil fuel. The cow feed is basically a product of commercial fertilizer which is fossil fuel derived. It's certainly not renewable or sustainable.

I should put one on my HORSE farm.
The horses eat the hay that I grow (no chemicals/herbicides/pesticides).
Get the methane from the manure.
Spread the rest of the solid waste back on the hay field.

Does that work? (and we don't eat the horses!)

Now....someone do the math for 30 horses (and where do I get the equipment:wink: )

 

[deonb]

I should put one on my HORSE farm.
The horses eat the hay that I grow (no chemicals/herbicides/pesticides).
Get the methane from the manure.
Spread the rest of the solid waste back on the hay field.

Does that work? (and we don't eat the horses!)

Now....someone do the math for 30 horses (and where do I get the equipment:wink: )

Gives new meaning to the term: "Horsepower"

According to http://biogas.fnr.de/daten-und-fakten/faustzahlen/, you'll get 1472 kWh per horse per year so your 30 horses gives 120 kWh per day. So yes, you can run a Model S on 30 horses.

Here's a fairly cool video of how to create your own anaerobic digester:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=104&v=3AZv6MjZylo

 

[jerry33]

Gives new meaning to the term: "Horsepower"

The new term is "Horseapplepower"

 

[Barry]

When they start running out of fuel, do they call it a brown out?

 

[nleggatt]

How fast were you able to charge from the chademo there?

 

[Mookuh]

When they start running out of fuel, do they call it a brown out?

I applaud you. :biggrin:

 

[deonb]

How fast were you able to charge from the chademo there?

Not that fast. About 60 miles per hour (at < 150 mile SOC).

 

[DMC-Orangeville]

According to http://biogas.fnr.de/daten-und-fakten/faustzahlen/, you'll get 1472 kWh per horse per year so your 30 horses gives 120 kWh per day. So yes, you can run a Model S on 30 horses.

I wish I could read German......but I'll take your word for it:smile:

Here's a fairly cool video of how to create your own anaerobic digester:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=104&v=3AZv6MjZylo

I might just have to try this. I've already piqued the interest of a couple of friends and family (engineers; go figure). Time to read up on gas storage and fuel cells....
Thanks for the lead deonb!

 

[Owner]

Now wouldn't it be very cool if the Harris Ranch supercharger were all powered by cow manure!!!

 

[Mookuh]

I wish I could read German......but I'll take your word for it:smile:

Assuming we both read the table correctly, I'll second his statement.

Some other things that might be of interest:

Alveo - Water and Sanitation

Based in South Africa (where biogas plants make a lot of sense). According to them, cows yield more energy than horses, but both numbers are higher than the ones on the German site. Guess it depends on a lot of factors (and am not sure if this is the raw energy, or electricity)

Bio-gasing | InnoHorse webtool

This seems like a good place to look for info on how to make your own biogas plant. It focuses on the baltic area, but most things should be applicable all the way over in the USA

Now wouldn't it be very cool if the Harris Ranch supercharger were all powered by cow manure!!!

According to Wikipedia, Harris Ranch has over 100.000 cattle Apparently, slaughter cattle produces about half as much methane as dairy cattle, so assuming 1.5 kWh/cow&day, that's 150,000 kWh or 1764 full Model S charges. It would need about 7 MW generating power (which is massive in terms of biogas plants) Though I guess with the sheer size of the ranch, multiple plants would have to be built. The investment would be huge, but it should pay off eventually.

Fun fact: 7% of all electricity in Germany is derived from biomass, more than from Solar

 

[miimura]

Fun fact: 7% of all electricity in Germany is derived from biomass, more than from Solar

Biomass includes simply burning plant matter, so that's a lot different than biogas.