ST. EUGENE — George Heinzle now has 150 dairy cows that are turning on kitchen lights and heating homes. That’s because last month, Heinzle’s methane digester was connected to the power grid. He’s the first farmer in Ontario to sell power back to the Ontario Power Authority, using methane gas, separated from the seemingly endless supply of manure from his cows.

He signed a 20-year contract to sell power at 11 cents per kilowatt hour, with a 3.5 cent premium when he supplies at peak hours: an advantage unattainable by wind farms.

With this news, Heinzle is hosting an open house at his farm, east of Ottawa, on September 15 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

His methane digester produces 750 kilowatt hours of energy each day, enough to power two-average sized dairy farms, he said. But by using other sources of commercial waste he hopes to be producing 4,000 kilowatt hours each day within a few months. He would then earn from the digester about $13,166 per month.

"The price is not as good as it should be for this to take off," Heinzle told Farmers Forum. "But it’s a start. It’s acceptable. What is not acceptable is the contract. It’s 20 years."

He’s hoping for more flexibility down the road. "We hope that if a new program comes out we can switch over. I don’t want to be penalized for ploughing the way for everyone. The Minister of Agriculture really wants digesters built and will pay 40 per cent of capital costs for a digester. With that, you can be profitable, barely."

He said an attractive price would be to earn 15 cent per kilowatt hour. Henizle’s brother next door is also working at getting his methane digester up and running. Heinzle said that he is hoping to use waste from various sources, including restaurant grease traps and food processors to supply his digester. On August 23 he was to receive his first shipment of corn syrup from a Chatham-based ethanol plant for a trial run.

While numerous reports now emerging, downplay the benefits of biogas and other green-fuel solutions, Heinzle is nonplussed. "We reduce odour by 95 per cent," he said. "That’s a major benefit for society. We kill 95 per cent of pathogens. We reduce methane emissions, which are 25 times more potent than C02."

Heinzle milks 130 Holsteins on 340 acres and has a total of 250 cows. He sells all the power from the digester to the power authority. He buys back electricity to power his operation, Terryland Farms, which benefits from a small amount of free power that trickles over from his digester to his farm operation.

He says many farmers want methane digesters, which now cost almost $400,000 to build.

"Many farmer were just waiting to see how mine is working," he said.