June 2, 2003—The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and Department of Agriculture announced in May a $5 million initiative—Pennsylvania Energy Harvest—to help finance the implementation of clean and renewable energy technologies such as biomass and wind power that will help to improve air quality, preserve land, and protect local watersheds while providing economic opportunities for the state’s agricultural community.
According to DEP, the output from Pennsylvania’s hogs and dairy cows can produce 631,000 megawatt hours. That is enough to power 86,000 homes or reduce the need for 384,459 barrels of oil, which would fill up more than a half-million average-sized cars with gasoline-or roughly the number of all passenger cars registered in Philadelphia.
Aside from biodigesters, wind energy also provides a steady income through leases and royalty payments. Although leasing arrangements vary widely, a reasonable estimate for income to a farmer or landowner from a single utility-scale turbine is about $3,000 a year.
Among some of the projects that could qualify for funding:
- Using biomass, which includes any organic and renewable material, such as agricultural byproducts, for electricity generation.
- Implementing wind farms to produce pollution-free power locally for farmers, industrial parks and others.
- Taking advantage of existing waste coal to produce energy.
- Using small-scale solar power systems in rural areas to mitigate other environmental impacts.
