Photos courtesy of Dan McNutt
The goal of the Manure to Energy Initiative (M2E) was to develop and vet options for poultry farmers to increase their net revenue and reduce sediment and nutrient movement to local waters and the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. The M2E Initiative consisted of five demonstration projects that employed different hybrid gasification technologies at farm-scale to convert poultry litter to heat and/or electrical energy. Three demonstration projects were identified in the Delmarva Peninsula, one each in DE, MD, and VA. One project took place in Pennsylvania’s Lancaster County and the other in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley. Three demonstration projects produced heat, and two produced heat and electricity.
Partners
Chesapeake Bay Funders Network, Farm Pilot Project Coordination Inc., University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, Lancaster County Conservation District, Sustainable Chesapeake
Sponsors
M2E took place in the Mid-Atlantic States under partnership funding from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and EPA, and a USDA Conservation Innovation Grant, with matching funds from the Chesapeake Bay Funders Network and participating farmers and technology vendors.
