October 15, 2010

Pennsylvania egg farm to build manure power plant

Annapolis-based EnergyWorks Biopower and Hillandale Farms Gettysburg, a Pennsylvania egg farm, have agreed to build the 2.5 megawatt manure-to-energy plant capable of processing waste from as many as five million chickens.

The companies say the plant, expected to begin operation in 2012, will turn the waste into gas to produce electricity.

In addition, EnergyWorks says it will keep the waste from being spread as fertiliser on farm land, where it can run off into waterways. Reducing farm runoff is one of the key strategies in a new, tougher federal strategy to restore the Chesapeake Bay, a strategy that has prompted concern from agriculture interests over its costs.