Short’s Brewing Repurposes High Strength Waste Water for Electricity Generation
(Elk Rapids, MI) – Short’s Brewing Company, Northern Michigan’s largest craft brewery, is proud to have partnered with NOVI Energy of Novi, MI to divert high strength effluent from the Short’s production brewery to NOVI Energy’s Fremont Community Digester (FCD) for conversion into biogas usable in renewable electricity generation.
This commitment by Short’s Brewing Co. to isolate waste water from the brewing and cellaring processes will help fuel generation of the 3 megawatt Fremont Community Digester electricity generating station. Power generated by the Digester is sold to Consumers Energy.
“Our relationship with NOVI Energy has been an opportunity for us to achieve some great successes with the worst of our waste water,” said Matt Gacioch, Sustainability Specialist at Short’s Brewing Co. “Reducing the strain on the Elk Rapids Waste Water Treatment Plant while providing organic material for clean energy generation will allow us to continue on our mission to support protection of the natural world we’re constantly inspired by in Northern Michigan.”
In addition to its partnership with NOVI Energy, Short’s Brewing Co. sustainability efforts include:
- Extensive solid waste reduction and recycling programs
- Process water recapture and reuse
- Reuse of spent grain for feeding local livestock
- Purchase of Renewable Energy Credits to offset electricity use by renewable sources
How Anaerobic Digestion Works
The Fremont Community Digester (FCD) that handles the high strength waste water from Short’s Brewing Co. employs anaerobic digestion. Anaerobic Digestion at FCD biologically decomposes multiple organic feedstocks in a system absent of air or oxygen. The resulting biogas is used as fuel to generate electricity. More info available at http://www.fcdbiogas.com/complete-mix-anaerobic-digestion-technology/
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NOVI Energy
NOVI Energy (http://www.novienergy.com/) is an entrepreneurial company that turns exceptional ideas and outstanding technologies into efficient energy solutions. NOVI Energy provides a broad range of services in energy management and energy infrastructure development for governmental, industrial, institutional, commercial and utility customers located throughout the world. The Fremont Community Digester project developed by NOVI Energy broke ground in 2011, and officially went online in 2012.
Fremont Community Digester is co-owned by INDUS Energy of Bingham Farms, MI, NOVI Energy and North Central Cooperative of Wabash, IN. It is managed by NOVI Energy. FCD takes organic wastes, including food processing and agricultural wastes from West Michigan. It digests these wastes to produce biogas, which fuels two engine-generators to generate renewable electricity.
Short’s Brewing Company
In April of 2004, Short’s Brewing Company opened its doors in the quaint village of Bellaire, MI. Beer was the mission, liberation was the movement. The philosophy was (and continues to be) to bring an appreciation of craft beer to Michigan with product education and creativity. Over nine years later, Short’s is the fourth largest craft beer producer in the state of Michigan with bottle and keg distribution throughout the Great Lakes State. Believing in the power of the smallness, Short’s plans to continue focusing its energies close to home and supporting what it calls the “SBC Michigan Stimulus Package”. www.shortsbrewing.com
