Senate approves of good digestion

OLYMPIA — Washington farmers who use specialized equipment to create renewable energy from farm waste will get a tax break thanks to passage of a bill sponsored by Sen. Mary Margaret Haugen, D-Camano Island.

Senate Bill 6806 provides a six year property and leasehold excise tax exemption for farmers who invest in anaerobic digesters, also known as biodigesters. A tax incentive established in 2003 to encourage the production of biodiesel and alcohol fuels did not include anaerobic digesters, but their growing potential for agricultural waste reduction and to generate electricity was something Haugen thought was worth investing in.

“These things are amazing,” said Haugen. “The methane from one digester can generate enough renewable electricity for a small town the size of La Conner. Unfortunately, their high up-front costs prevent most farmers from investing in the technology — but this bill can change that.”

Anaerobic digesters compost — or “digest” — organic waste in a machine that limits access to oxygen, which is what makes them “anaerobic.” Farms and ranches can use anaerobic digesters to recover methane from animal manure for producing electricity, heat, and hot water. The process destroys methane — a potent greenhouse gas — and can greatly reduce manure odor.

Kevin Maas, a Skagit Valley dairy farmer, believes the incentive will be exactly the boost that local farmers need to introduce this new technology to their operations, and applauds an appropriation in the 2008 Budget of $500,000 for Farm Power Northwest, a manure digester project in Skagit County.

“This is great news for Skagit Valley dairy farmers, said Maas. “Investments and tax incentives like these will help stimulate the construction of what would otherwise be difficult for even a group of several family farms to invest in.”

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