Last week I was catching up with making plant calls, and it became more apparent than ever that the call-back or confirmation rate of on-farm digesters is…well…not what we wish it was.

A lot of the data we initially used for this map—a jumping off point, if you will—came from sources like U.S. EPA Ag Star, but we found that much of the information publically available is quite outdated. We want to make sure these digesters are still operating, that these projects making power (or fuel!), or maybe they have expanded, and there is really no way to do that other than directly speaking to someone at the facilities.

It’s hard to leave a message with someone at the front desk—even when we explain what we are doing, it’s assumed there is a cost involved, or that we’re trying to sell something. On the contrary. We’re working to gather the most accurate data possible, data that stakeholders can use to their advantage—for free. And if you’re a dairy or pork farmer, why wouldn’t you want the world to know about your environmentally friendly efforts?

So please. If you fall into the category of someone involved with a biogas project that produces energy, first check to see if you’re on our map. Make sure everything is correct. And either way, shoot me an email or give me a call to let me know that it is. Or isn’t. Or, in some cases, we might have missed you. it only takes a minute, and I promise you that.

Note: The above is also relevant to pellet plants and biomass power plants that produce 1 MW or more. However, we have a much, much better response rate from these facilities.

So speaking of biogas and AD, I’m in the midst of putting together a webinar on North Carolina’s RPS and it’s swine and poultry waste carve-outs. I wrote a story about it last month that you can read here. In it, I spoke with Angie Maier from the North Carolina Pork Council—and I blogged about it a few weeks ago—and she’s going to be one of my presenters.  Do you have an operating or developing project in N.C. and want to share what you’re doing? Advice to give? Reach out to me. I fully expect this to be a very well-attended webinar, and sponsor spots are still open--for now.

I should have the agenda completed within the next couple of weeks, so more on that later.