Dung power

Adversity is truly the mother of invention. Bogged by surging demand and inadequate supply, the human race is thinking out new ways to make energy. Like making energy out of zoo waste. Not exactly new because it has been tried out. The Rosamond Gifford Zoo in Syracuse, New York had investigated using waste from its Asian elephant breeding program a few years back. The economics didn’t quite work out.

But not giving up, it is now the Toronto Zoo that hopes to make a killing from its poo power! But for the money which is pegged at a high $10.5 million, the zoo estimates that its 5,000 animals produce enough manure to power a biogas-to-electricity plant which not only would be able to supply all of the zoo’s needs, but sell enough power back to the grid that the entire project would pay for itself within five years.

Animal dung and manure has been known to have excellent calorific value. So what prevents our zoos and poultry farms from experimenting on the same lines? All that waste put to good use.

With 750 cows, Laurie Stanton's farm has a lot of manure to harvest. At Ontario's largest farm-biogas installation, the tonnes of "biomass", as it is politely called, is fermented in a big tank, and the methane is collected and piped to a diesel generator. The leftover liquids make a good fertilizer and the solids become bedding for cows.

At Navdarshanam, a successful experiment in sustainable living, here in the outskirts of Bangalore, cow dung from the 20 odd cattle not only helps with cooking but also provides manure. Through anaerobic process, dung mixed with water produces methane which burns to cook food. The waste from the process is excellent manure. Biomass collected from the land is burnt in a controlled manner to produce high-value charcoal which supplements the methane for cooking purposes.

The electricity needs of the place, which in effect mean the lighting and for running a small mill, come from solar and wind energy. All within a kilowatt and perfectly working!

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has just signed Executive Order S-14-08 (EO) to streamline California's renewable energy project approval process and increase the state's Renewable Energy Standard to 33 percent renewable power by 2020.

We cannot expect such commitments from our leaders for reasons political, mostly. In India, the focus is still not about clean energy as it is about quality power. When power comes in fits and bursts, it makes sense to look at alternate ways. Using a combination of ways. It is up to organizations and units to check out ways best suited for their energy requirements, according to the resources at hand.

Self help is the best help, right?