Turn fertilizer into money

An American city will build an industrial park in which electricity is produced from animal manure.

Greeley city has nearly 100,000 people but there are several hundred thousand buffaloes and cows. Photo: wordpress.com .

People in Greeley, Colorado, USA mainly live on agriculture and agriculture-related industries. On the outskirts of the city, people raise several hundred thousand buffaloes and cows to get milk and meat. Their droppings are getting more and more and become a problem that the city government has a headache. But now the situation has changed, when people realize the opportunity to make money from piles of dung.

Investors are racing to register capital for a clean energy industrial park on the outskirts of the city. In this industrial zone, methane gas from animal manure will be used to produce electricity and sell it to companies. JBS, the company that operates the largest slaughterhouse and two grasslands in the city, is experimenting with a technology to heat cow manure and turn it into electricity. Because the source of fertilizer is available, it is likely that the cost of producing electricity will be extremely low, so companies will enjoy cheap electricity.

' Things that have been discarded and smelled unpleasant have the opportunity to show that they are valuable ,' said Bruce Biggi, an expert in economic development for Greeley City. Biggi said the state governor gave the city $ 82,000 to build a clean energy industry.

After the industrial zone construction project is completed, officials hope companies will rush to take advantage of cheap electricity. In addition, they can also access endless sources of methane.

In addition to reducing methane - one of the greenhouse gases - the industrial zone also turns cow dung into money. Many communities in the city are also looking for other renewable energy sources, such as wind and sunlight.