Holy Cow! Manure-to-Biogas Could Generate 3 Percent of US Electric Demand

by Matthew McDermott, Brooklyn, NY on 07.25.08 photo by Chris Austin Biogas plants are nothing new in the world of alternative energy. We recently covered a biogas plant in Germany using corn as feedstock: Yay for greener energy, Nay for not using a food crop when there are better alternatives. However, new research coming out of the University of Texas, Austin shows that we may be ignoring the potential of one feedstock, which left to decompose is a powerful emitter of greenhouse gas emissions: Cow Manure. GHG Emissions from Manure Decomposition Could be Avoided The report, “Cow power: the energy and emissions benefits of converting manure to biogas", estimates that decomposing cow manure emits somewhere between 51 to 118 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent, with the trend increasing over the last fifteen years. This... [read full story]