Project Development Resources
Rural Energy for America Program - Financial incentives have increased the deployment rate of manure digester systems. For example, grants and loans awarded by USDA Rural Development through the Farm Bill have been one of the primary methods for farms to partially fund installation of commercially proven livestock waste digestion technologies.
The AgSTAR Handbook is a comprehensive manual that provides guidance on developing biogas recovery systems at commercial farms.
Common Safety Practices for On-Farm Anaerobic Digestion Systems (PDF) (25 pp, 2MB), which identifies the major hazards associated with anaerobic digester systems and outlines practices to ensure a safe and successful work environment for facilities with these systems.
AgSTAR has put together a brief summary of state air, solid waste, and water permitting requirements for on-farm anaerobic digester systems that digest organic wastes and manure on the Permitting Practices page. It also presents an overview of the federal regulations that affect these systems.
FarmWare is an expert decision support software package that can be used to conduct prefeasibility assessments.
AD Screening Forms can be used by producers who are interested in determining whether anaerobic digestion could be feasible for their operation. Upon receipt of the form, an AgSTAR representative will follow up to discuss whether a more in-depth pre-feasibility assessment should be conducted.
- Dairy Form (PDF) (1 pg, 34K), Online Dairy Form
- Swine Form (PDF) (1 pg, 33K), Online Swine Form
The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service's National Conservation Practices table contains information regarding Plug Flow Digesters, Complete Mix Digesters, and Covered Lagoons as Anaerobic Digester Conservation Practice Standard - No. 366 (PDF) (8 pp, 144K, About PDF).
Anaerobic Digestion Capital Costs for Dairy Farms (PDF) (2 pp, 188K, About PDF) is an analysis of itemized vendor cost quotes that provides preliminary guidance on estimating capital costs.
For information on the standardized evaluation of digester performance, see A Protocol for Quantifying and Reporting the Performance of Anaerobic Digestion Systems for Livestock Manures.