A NSW piggery that turns methane from animal manure into electricity that powers the farm has been given the green light to earn carbon credits in an Australian first.

Blantyre Farms, which has 22,000 pigs, near Young in NSW is the first to be declared eligible under the federal government's carbon farming initiative.

The piggery was the first in Australia to install a commercial scale system that converts methane from pig manure into electricity, powering the entire operation of the farms, using a covered pond system.

As a result, farm owners Edwina and Michael Beveridge no longer have a $15,000 a month electricity bill but earn $5000 a month from selling power back to the grid.

Australian company Quantum Power built the technology.

Australian pig farms emit 3.8 million tonnes of methane a year.

Originally published as Piggery earns carbon credits in Aust first