"WASHINGTON - As U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration seeks to revive its ambitious social spending and climate plan in Congress, environmental groups and the farm industry are at odds over proposed subsidies aimed at offsetting agriculture’s substantial contribution to global warming.
Tax credits and grants proposed in the administration’s sweeping “Build Back Better” bill(BBB) would bolster the small but fast-growing market for manure-based methane gas by supporting construction of machines that trap the gas from open manure pits on dairy farms and other livestock operations. Farmers could then sell the trapped methane for use in generating electricity or vehicle fuel in the form of compressed natural gas.
The proposed incentives have been hailed by dairy farmers and investors as a “game changer” that could pad farm incomes while combating climate change by providing a less-polluting alternative to fossil fuels. The industry that produces gas from organic waste says subsidies would boost the development of the machinery.
But some environmental groups and Democratic lawmakers have lined up against the subsidies, saying they could backfire because if capturing and selling methane from cows becomes profitable, it could incentivize large farms to grow, increasing greenhouse gas emissions. They warn that supporting a market for biomethane fuel would delay a transition to an all-electric future."
Leah Douglas and Nichola Groom report for Reuters January 11, 2022.
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