2024: Assessing the Scale, Longevity and Equity of Methane Emission Reduction from Dairy Anaerobic Digester Systems (EDF)
Anaerobic digestion on dairy farms is a climate mitigation strategy whereby methane emissions from dairy manure are captured for energy use. Such systems offer various economic and environmental co-benefits, but are long‐term investments that require both substantial upfront costs and reliable connection into the existing electricity or natural gas network. Using spatial information on gas infrastructure and farm-related variables, researchers will study the incentives and barriers behind farmer adoption of anaerobic digesters. This will consist of documenting existing and proposed incentive structures in the U.S. and Europe, including private carbon credit programs, and public cost-sharing and tax-incentive programs; surveying dairy farmers who have adopted and then abandoned their digester systems; and interviewing agricultural lenders, representatives from dairy producer associations, and energy companies to better understand how to sustainably finance anaerobic digesters and spur adoption.
Cornell: Wendong Zhang, Dyson School
EDF: David McLaughlin