The emerging Energy Economy continues to evolve in unexpected ways. A Minnesota farmer and researchers from the University of Minnesota have developed a method to generate electric power from a fuel cell that uses cow manure as the feedstock.
The prototype fuel cell generates 5 kilowatts--enough to power a modest home but not enough to run a whole farm. Nonetheless, it is a significant development because it uses a feedstock (manure) that is currently something that is a disposal problem in many areas. It's also good news for rural communities, since it could provide a significant measure of energy independence and/or could help a rural region become a net energy producer by selling power back to the electric company, if enough fuel cells (running at higher efficiencies) were in use.