Hartford Business Journal

HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | DECEMBER 19, 2022 15 hfpg.org/yourfund Turn your PASSION for our community into LASTING IMPACT The Hartford Foundation for Public Giving makes it easy to support the causes that matter most to you and provides opportunities to learn about our region's greatest needs. Akki said she expects the return on investment to be five to six years. Another challenge for the project has been the extensive permitting process. It's taken more than a year to obtain regulatory approvals for the Hytone project, Akki said. Limited land, best use New Britain will be among the beneficiaries of Hytone's lower-cost electricity. Stewart said electric bills for the three schools to be powered by Hytone will be about 30% less expensive than normal. "What Ag-Grid Energy does is unbelievable, and it is definitely a new way of producing energy, but yet solving multiple problems in our environment, and we're really grateful for that," Stewart said. Hytone Ag-Grid LLC is a special purpose entity created to develop, build and partner in the supply and operation of Hytone's anaerobic digester at 2047 Boston Turnpike. The partnership is between Hytone Farm LLC and Akki's company, Ag-Grid Energy. The digester system sits on about 6 acres, which Akki's company leases from the farm. "The farm is the equity partner in the entity, so they benefit and we benefit," Akki said. Greg Peracchio, owner of Hytone Farm, said he considered other ways of using his land to generate elec- tricity, such as installing solar panels. But generating the same amount of power would require hundreds of acres — land that he needs to grow crops to feed his livestock. "In the state of Connecticut, land is a limited resource," Peracchio said. "There's only so much of it available. And we need that cropland to be able to grow the crops that we're using to feed the calves. So the solar panel thing, if somebody wanted to put them on a roof on a barn, a big barn with a big open roof, that sort of makes sense to me. But as far as putting in a solar installation on the ground, it doesn't really make sense to us." Solar panels require about six times more land than an anaerobic digester system, Akki said. Peracchio said he and his father once agreed they wanted to figure out a way for the farm to generate its own power and become more self-sufficient. Hytone Ag-Grid not only produces more than enough electricity for the farm, it creates a digestate byproduct the farm will use to nourish its crops. That will reduce the farm's reliance on commercial fertilizer, saving money, Peracchio explained. Creative energy solutions Ag-Grid Energy has other anaer- obic digesters on dairy farms in Rockwood and Belden, Massachu- setts and Lent Hill, New York. The company employs four people and has anaerobic digester projects underway in Michigan, California and Pennsylvania. Ag-Grid Energy currently produces a little more than 2 megawatts of electricity across its facilities, heading toward 4 megawatts by the end of 2023, Akki said. Alternative clean energy forms have been top of mind in Connecticut as energy rates rise and supply short- ages in Europe threaten to cause electric disruptions this winter. Connecticut has the third-highest average electricity retail prices among the lower 48 states, after Massachu- setts and California, according to the U.S. Energy Information Admin- istration (EIA). Most of its electricity comes from natural gas-fired plants. Renewable resources provided about 5% of Connecticut's electricity net generation in 2021, according to EIA. In 2019, Gov. Ned Lamont issued an executive order requiring 100% of the state's electricity supply to be generated by renewable resources by 2040. The General Assembly codified that pledge into law earlier this year. Stewart said she sees the need for creative energy solutions in Connecticut and hopes Akki's project is a step toward expanding the state's energy portfolio. "As we're looking at changing our thought process about how we get rid of waste, and how we produce electricity, having this type of biogas solution that may even be able to take our organic waste someday … really can get everybody thinking," Stewart said. The anaerobic digester at Hytone Farm in Coventry will convert cow manure and food waste into biogas, which is pumped into an engine to generate heat and electricity. PHOTO | CONTRIBUTED

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