COULD GRASS BE OUR NEXT ENERGY SUPPLIER. ?

Grass-powered gas is set to heat thousands of homes for the first time in the coming weeks. Green energy firm Ecotricity is expected to begin supplying 5,300 homes from its plant near Reading UK in April. Research has estimated that the grass biogas can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by nearly 90 per cent. It is hoped the scheme can be scaled up to supply fuel to more homes around the country. The £11 million mill uses bacteria to break down grasses and herbs, which absorb carbon dioxide while growing, in an anaerobic digester.
This produces biogas which is then “scrubbed” to remove some carbon dioxide and upgraded to biomethane for use in the gas network.
An organic fertiliser, which is intended to help grow more grass, is also produced. Green gas has previously been made from food waste or “high energy” crops such as maize, but both face sustainability issues and problems with a lack of scale. Maize, for example, is fertiliser-hungry, attracts birds that struggle to survive in it, and is harvested around autumn, leaving topsoil run-off.

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