A company in Carleton Place, Ont., has developed a machine it hopes will help farmers get off the electrical grid as they clean up after their cows.

Powerbase Energy Systems, located about 50 kilometres southwest of Ottawa, is marketing a machine that changes manure into electricity.

The machine's digester systems can power more than just a single farm, said Rob Morley, general manager of the company.

A typical system, he said, can generate up to 500 kilowatts of power — enough for 400 homes.

Ontario Power Generation is ready to pay more than 14 cents per kilowatt-hour for that energy, he said.

But first, the company has to get farmers plugged into the new technology.

"Farmers are a pretty wary bunch and a lot of them are waiting to see one in their own local area and kick the tires on it before they'll put one on their own properties," he said. "But we think it's going to be very prevalent in the next few years."

How it works:

• Manure coming out of the barn goes into an anaerobic digester.
• Methane produced by bacteria in the manure rises to the top.
• The methane is then directed into a heat and power system, where it powers the engine that makes the electricity.

Doug Cleary said he's ready to benefit from the waste his cows leave behind.

At the moment, Cleary relies on hydro power for his dairy farm, he said.

"My hydro bill two months ago was $4,700. Last month was $3,900," said Cleary.

Much of that cost is for the power used by the fridges that cool his cows' milk, he said.

If a digester would save him money and even earn some, he's ready to make the leap, Cleary said.

"I'm hoping by the end of the summer, we're actually producing electricity," he said.

In five years, Cleary hopes to have made enough money to pay off the $1.2 million price for his digester system, he said.