Clean Energy, Clean Lakes Treatment Plant Moving Forward

Will help farmers create cleaner lakes, energy, green jobs

With the spring melt starting and a Wisconsin State Journal series on dairy farming, I joined other Dane County Supervisors to introduce the Clean Energy and Clean Lakes Resolution to fund and build a community anaerobic manure digester and pollution treatment plant in the Town of Vienna to help farmers provide clean energy, green jobs, and cleaner water.

The Clean Energy, Clean Lakes treatment plant will mean more green jobs in our county and less green algae in our lakes. This first-in-the-nation plant will make our beaches safer and benefit all of us who swim, boat, fish and enjoy our lakes.

The Dane County Clean Energy, Clean Lakes Project will:

• Create a regional manure digester and treatment plant for three farms to remove 80,000-100,000 pounds of phosphorus which is up to 70% that 2,500 dairy cows produce;
  
• Export that phosphorus out of the watershed as compost or bedding;
  
• Remove excess phosphorus fertilizers that cause blue-green algae growth in Lake Mendota and other lakes that creates health problems;
  
• Create 2 megawatts of green power, enough to power 2,500 homes;
  
• Cost $11million paid for by a business partner and the state;
  
• Creates at least 25 jobs.
  

The Clean Energy Plant addresses a large part of the water pollution problem. Cropland and barnyards are the largest sources of phosphorus going into Lake Mendota, according Dane County and UW reports.

This means cleaner lakes and beaches and helps lakefront home landowners. This measure means safer beaches in my district like Spring Harbor and Marshall Park beaches.

Governor Doyle and the state budget provided $6.6 million from the capital budget to pay for this effort and this resolution authorizes the expenditure of that money. The Clean Energy plant was recommended in the 2005 Dane County Liquid Manure Management report and facilitated by Dane County staff and supervisors.

The $11 million Clean Energy, Clean Lakes plant will create approximately 25 construction jobs. This is a win for our construction workers who need jobs, and win for our lakes and family farmers.

Dane County has 400 dairy farms and 50,000 dairy cows employing 4,000 people, a $700 million a year dairy industry. It generates over 2 billion pounds of manure annually, about 4,200 pounds per county resident.