Biogas Plants in Europe - 6/29/09

European governments are turning manure into energy while slashing greenhouse gases from farms and boosting energy supplies.

Plants that covert manure, grass, corn and organic waste into electricity in the past only used by a few farmers but the European Union has about 8,000 biogas plants.  Thousands more are going to be built over the next ten years fueled by subsidies. 

Farm emissions are 9% of the EU’s total greenhouse gas emissions more than all industrial processes.  A good deal of the emissions comes for two gases produced from livestock manure. These two gases are methane, which has 20 times the global warming effect of carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide which is 300 times as potent as carbon dioxide.

Farmers can make money by capturing this methane from their manure and the EU can reduce their dependence on imported natural gas.

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