Selfsufficientish.com

Power project to burn dead cows

Dead cows would be turned into an energy source under the plans
A multi-million-pound project is under way in Aberdeenshire to turn dead cows into a clean energy source.
The new plant being built near Kintore aims to generate electricity for the National Grid by burning animal products supplied by local abattoirs.

The Oran Group is aiming to create Scotland's first renewable energy plant using biomass materials as fuel.

It is using the site of a former rendering plant that caused complaints about smells before it closed in 2004.

But Oran said smells would not be a problem because of the new machinery it would install.

Fuel source

It claimed a huge thermal oxidiser would dispel any odours by subjecting them to a two second blast of 1,000C heat.

By the summer, Oran hopes to get permits to begin rendering down animal by-products at the plant.

Within two years, it hopes to have permission to use these same products as a fuel source which it said would generate enough electricity round the clock to power 9,000 homes.

Deputy First Minister Nicol Stephen has already welcomed the scheme.

BBC

Despite being renewable it will still produce carbon emmisions as something is being burnt. Seems that burning waste products will be a fuel of the future. They mentioned burning our rubbish down here to make electricity, but they called it cooking our rubbish instead. Sounds better I guess.

Interesting point Andy!

Wouldn't it be better to be eating them rather than burning them? I'm suprised they don't use all the 'grim bits' for dog food? Surely this is more a sign of the waste we make rather than good practise. In most cultures (except ours) virtually nothing from slaughtered animals is wasted, to do so is an insult to the life that is taken and a waste of a valued resource. (and no, I'm not a vegetarian!)

I suspect it will be all the bits that can't be used due to EU laws I'm guessing that it will be classified as carbon neutral in the same way that burning wood is, it's not releasing fossil carbon.

When stuff rots down most of the carbon gets released as CO2 and CH4 anyways. Don't know exactly how much, but most. Eventually. I still think it'd be better used elseways. Government-sponsored fertilizer? Oh, wait, treading on the toes of agribusiness. Can't go there.