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