Cow power helps fill your gas tank

Calgren Renewable Fuels, the Pixley-based ethanol plant, has been awarded a $4.68 million matching grant from the California Energy Commission (CEC) to utilize dairy cow gas to make ethanol.

The money will go to construction of a digester used to break down manure to make clean burning biomethane — the green equivalent of natural gas.

“This will mean we can further reduce our carbon footprint in making ethanol,” said Calgren CEO Lyle Schlyer.

Schlyer says it is increasingly important to produce the motor fuel with fewer carbon emissions. Already, Calgren uses waste heat from a cogeneration plant at the site to reduce natural gas use by 20 percent and the addition of the biogas will cut natural gas usage overall another eight percent in the production process.

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