Wild-Catting in the Cow Patties

[IDemo]

BY TONY EVANS - Boise Weekly

The defeat of Sempra Energy's plans for a major coal-fired power plant in southern Idaho was celebrated during Earth Day celebrations as far away as San Francisco last week. Many Idahoans were proud of the efforts of Senator Clint Stennett and others in the Idaho Legislature who stood up to the energy giant and sent them packing.

But the question remains: How will Idaho provide energy needs for its growing population?

Intrepid Technology and Resources, a home-grown, publicly traded company from Idaho Falls, would like to capitalize on the recent interest in renewable energy by using what they see as a vast, untapped natural resource: cow manure.

Intrepid has plans to transform millions of tons of the stuff through bio-digester conversion into pipeline-quality methane gas to heat Idaho homes beginning next summer. A new 15-year contract with Intermountain Gas Company to accomplish this feat, beginning in 2007, marks the first time a biogas company will sell its product commercially.

If cow patties are the new black gold, southern Idaho may be the equivalent of a Texas oil field.

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