Montchevré Goes Green!
Since 2007, we at Montchevré have been working in partnership with Procorp Engineering and Alliant Energy to create a system that would transform our industrial waste into energy. The $3.5 million project was partly financed by a $550,000 low-interest loan from the State Energy Program funded by the Federal Stimulus Package — the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.
The project — termed an energy recovery system — was the result of years of study and risk assessments. Arnaud Solandt, the President of Montchevré, described the process of treating waste to create electricity as “the eighth wonder of the world.” “This is a win, win, win situation,” said State Rep. Steve Hilgenberg, whose 51st Assembly District includes Belmont. “This project creates jobs and protects the environment. This is basically our ability to look into the future in the present.”
Oct. 8, 2010: The Montchevré Anaerobic Digester is formally inaugurated!
On October 8th, 2010, we inaugurated our anaerobic digester, becoming the first goat cheese manufacturer in the United States to use this type of wastewater treatment. Montchevré is one of the largest employers in Belmont, Wisconsin, employing about 150 people. Last year, it processed about 50 million pounds of goat milk—from 300 dairy farms throughout Wisconsin, Iowa, southern Minnesota and Missouri—into 8 million pounds of goat cheese.
All that cheese production can produce a significant amount of waste… and after years of study and hard work, we can finally turn that waste into electricity that can power more than 200 homes in the area, thanks to anerobic digester technology. Further, methane from the project is used to generate electricity to power both the digester itself and to help meet up to 80 percent of the company’s energy needs! The project is an extremely gratifying opportunity for Montchevré to do its part in sustainable energy production while giving back to the community.
What is an anaerobic digestion?
Anaerobic digestion (AD) is the process by which organic materials in an enclosed vessel are broken down by micro-organisms, in the absence of oxygen. Anaerobic digestion produces biogas (consisting primarily of methane and carbon dioxide). AD systems are also often referred to as “biogas systems.” The anaerobic digester enables us to produce electricity by processing whey and wastewater, and converting it into carbon dioxide, bio mass, and methane, which is then turned into electricity.
How is this anaerobic digester “green”?
The Pre-Treatment Plant
It is estimated that the anaerobic digester has the ability to create 350 kilowatts an hour, which is enough power to supply about 240 average Wisconsin homes with electricity. That is more electricity than is needed for the entire community of Belmont, Wisconsin, (where our plant is located) at night.
Providing a sustainable product has become a priority to our company. Installing this anaerobic digester is just the first of many steps Montchevre plans to initiate to make us a greener company.
How does the Digester Work?
Land dispersement: a thing of the past.
Montchevré goats produce 50 million lbs. of goats’ milk per year, and this milk renders 8 million lbs. of goat cheese. Previously all wastewater from the cheese-making process was hauled off-site for land application — that’s 17 million gallons of waste water per year!
Now all that wastewater goes to the new pretreatment plant, where organics in the wastewater are degraded into carbon dioxide, methane and cell biomass. Gas is captured in the dome-shaped cover, conditioned, and sent to the generator to be converted to electricity. The 600,000-gallon digester has the capacity to treat more than 25,000 lbs. of COD (Chemical Oxygen Demand) per day.
The end result of the process produces 5,270 kilowatt hours of energy daily. The average Wisconsin home uses around 24 kilowatt hours per day… so our little goats help to power anywhere from 200 – 240 local homes daily, while keeping the environment cleaner by providing an alternative to biofuel!
