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market-farming - [Market-farming] Renewable energy on the farm. Was Greenhouse- milk jugs

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  • From: Leigh Hauter <lh AT pressroom.com>
  • To: market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: [Market-farming] Renewable energy on the farm. Was Greenhouse- milk jugs
  • Date: Sun, 9 Feb 2003 16:09:54 -0500

I was having fun with your comments about woodstoves, but I think you are getting a little out of your realm here.

The problem with the systems you are describing are several, but mostly investment capital. They are big on up front costs. Where Marc lives the wind blows what seems to be 95% of the time, you wake up at night if it stops wondering what's wrong (at least I did). But a good electric generating windmill costs 20-$30,000 and even those little ones made for sailboats and back ups to solar systems are pricey.

Last night we had dinner with some DC policy wonks including a lobbyist for the Wind Power Association. One of the conversation threads was actually about energy companies building windmills on farm land in western minn. and the dakotas. The idea is the farmers could make extra money from leasing their land and still farm it.

But that is a big time policy decision by government and a big time capital decision by big time capital. I don't think there are too many market farmers in those sets.

If we ever get around to building that new house my wife dreams of (she is tired of living in the house she grew up in) we will probably tap our artesian spring for hydroelectricity (we have 25 gpm and close to a 200 drop) but even that renewable energy costs a fair amount of up front money.

Gas production from biomass takes expensive equipment. (Marc, is there still a biomass factory down near La Mar or did that only exist because of long gone government tax incentives?) And while I know people were playing around with the idea of compost beds in their greenhouses for heat (and a lot of people on this list know a lot more about this than I do) I haven't heard much about the idea recently.

On the east coast and up in the north central and northwest trees are a renewable resource. Yes, there should be intelligent management of this resource, and the idea of cutting down old growth makes me sick to my stomach. But again, my wood stove is more environmentally sound than that nuclear power plant down the coast from you where you are getting the electricity to cool yourself in the summer (and god forbid, heat yourself if it ever gets chilly in the winter).

Around here, though, the old growth is long since gone. by the time of the American Revolution there wasn't a tree standing in the valley we live in. Since then the forest has been cut or burned (including several major forest fires) at least half a dozen times and right now, except where they are building McEstates (and my vegetable fields) it is covered by a mature oak forest. In fact I'm debating whether to timber a stand of tulip popular this next year so someone can make kitchen cabinets for people living in apartments in LA.

Finally, I don't think that renewables on the farm is a bad idea. it would be great. But it would take the sort of tax credits and tax breaks and out and out government grants and favorable local and national government policy that only the oil industry gets.




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