Renewable energy

On this page, you’ll find information on renewable energy technologies that can be used on-farm.

On-farm biogas production

The concept of on-farm biogas production is very simple; place organic material (ex. manure and food waste) in a tank and let the microorganisms convert the material into biogas and a nutrient-rich by-product called digestate.

The On-farm biogas development handbook (PDF, 2216KB) is designed to provide a basic understanding of biogas production and a high-level feasibility assessment to determine if your farm may be a good candidate for a biogas plant. The feasibility assessment does not replace an engineered assessment.

To better understand the economic feasibility of on-farm biogas projects for various farm types and feedstock, the British Columbia anaerobic digestion benchmark study (PDF, 10,606KB) was updated in 2019/2020. The updated study provides an economic analysis for 18 different scenarios (farm type and size, minimal technology, etc.). The study is meant to serve as a general indicator of on-farm feasibility, and should not be relied upon as a guarantee of success.

Anaerobic digestion technology is too expensive for most small to medium-sized farms in B.C; it generally requires at least 250 to 300 milking cows to be cost-effective. Biogas facilities servicing a cluster of dairies may be a economically viable option. To explore how farms could collaborate to make this technology work, see below:

• Centralized biogas feasibility factsheet (PDF, 511KB)
• Dairy biogas cluster feasibility study (PDF, 446KB)

For farmers interested in understanding if their farm, or a cluster of farms, has potential to support a biogas facility, please email AgriServiceBC@gov.bc.ca or call 1-888-221-7141 toll-free to get assistance with a pre-feasibility analysis.

When considering anaerobic digestion, it is possible that off-farm feedstocks will need to be imported in order to produce enough gas and in turn make the project viable. Farmers will need to account for the extra nutrients that are being brought on-farm if off-farm feedstocks are being imported. Nutrient recovery may be needed if the off-farm feedstock will upset the farm’s nutrient balance.

Solar energy

Solar energy provides a means for farms to capture renewable energy. The Implementing solar electricity on-farm report (PDF, 3.6MB) investigates the feasibility of implementing solar panels on the farm.