Chicken Manure Converted Into Green Energy at UK Biogas Plant

A biogas plant in southwest England next month will begin using the manure from thousands of chickens to provide electricity for 350 homes, a plan UK officials hope will become a model for local power generation. The plant, located in Cirencester, will convert the methane-rich gas from decomposing animal waste collected from nearby farms into heat and electricity, a renewable source of energy that could also help farmers cut operating costs and carbon emissions. Farmers will be paid for the manure and will receive free heat. Odors emanating from the poultry farms will be reduced, planners say, since the gases will be extracted and burned.