Biogas plant will use manure to power 2,800 homes

[Fledermaus]

A £22.5m facility which would turn manure and household waste into energy has been given the go-ahead in South Lanarkshire.

The biogas plant will form part of Scotland's first green commercial and industrial park, just off the M74.

Planning permission has been granted for the first phase of the project, which will produce enough electricity to power 2,8000 homes.

Proactive Energy, the firm behind the plans, hope to be operational by 2011.

The facility would be capable of producing 5 megawatts of electricity, which would be supplied to the National Grid.

It will help reduce the amount of organic waste being sent to landfill.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/glasgow_and_west/8374313.stm

[silverweb]

1. K&R.

Excellent.

[doc03]

2. Wow think of the homes they could power with all

the bullshit in Washington.

[joshcryer]

3. The USA could benefit from this technology, our largest pollution is waste from cattle and sheep.

It poisons streams and waterways and basically fucks the environment to no end.

[TheMadMonk]

4. Every little bit helps, but the real value of such projects is in their secondary effects.

Effects only just barely touched on in the line: "It will help reduce the amount of organic waste being sent to landfill."

In reality, a dairy farm bio-reacting all of it's waste still has trouble meeting it's own energy needs.

It's "value adding" that will make such ventures "profitable". The dairy farm gains a significantly reduced carbon footprint, as methane that is burnt is fifty odd times less harmful than an equivalent amount simply released into the atmosphere. (A significant problem on a large dairyfarm where manure tends to become concentrated in conditions that promote methane forming anaerobic digestion.) Digested waste can then be either used to fertilise pasture or sold, either way there's the added bonus of a reduction in the use of artificial fertisers.

Separating compostibles from the general waste stream is a good start, but there's plenty of room there for more gains.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plasma_arc_waste_disposal

This technique can be applied to existing landfills and even those that have been reclaimed. The arc can be established at the bottom of a landfill and drawn upwards, reducing the volume of the waste in a six foot diameter colum by about 90%. This significantly extends the lifespan of operating facilities. Retired landfills could become lakes and part of a stormwater management, reclamation system.


I think the single biggest selling point for these forms of eco friendly power generation will be how many added benefits can be extracted from otherwise marginal or high capital ventures.