Homestead Green Energy is a dairy farm-based anaerobic digester system based in Plymouth, Indiana. Homestead Dairy began as a modest family farm with only 110 cows. In 1979, brothers Floyd and Dan Houin purchased the farm from their dad and turned it into the massive dairy operation that it is today. The dairy now hosts 1,800 milking cows and 300 dry cows, while an additional 1,700 cows come in from three nearby facilities for milking. Floyd Houin started researching ways to reduce the impact of the odor from cow manure by analyzing several farming operations in northern Indiana and southern Michigan. He determined that building a biomass waste-to-energy facility to convert the manure into electric power was the direction he wanted to take. Fully operational since October 2013, Homestead Green Energy has been producing 1 MW of 24/7 electricity since then. Beyond odor reduction and the financial return from producing electricity, Homestead Dairy uses the dewatered solids from the digesters as clean bedding for the cows. Additionally, the liquid nutrient byproduct is held in lagoons and used to fertilize the farm fields. More >>
