Electricity from Cow Manure

Electricity from Cow Manure

The old saying "Where there's muck there's money" has taken a new twist in Germany where some farmers make more money from being energy suppliers than from farm products, according Stephan Heubeck, a German agricultural engineer who has recently migrated to New Zealand. Plant and technology for the generation of electricity from animal wastes is now readily available and could have value for New Zealand.

Elsewhere, energy producers are using biomass from forestry and other primary industries to produce methane that can substitute for fossil fuels in electricity and heat generation. Dr Per Nielsen, science leader for bioenergy at the Forest Research Institute in Rotorua, believes that biomass is under-valued as an energy source in New Zealand but overseas research could point the way to its use here.

Per Nielsen and Stephan Heubeck will discuss options for New Zealand at 5.30pm on Monday 17th November at the Waikato University School of Management, Hillcrest Road, Hamilton. The meeting, organised by Engineers for Social Responsibility, is open to the public.

ENDS

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