Cow dung will be collected, dried and formed into pellets, which will then be used as fuel. The power plant is expected to kill two birds with one stone by processing cattle waste and providing a supply of fuel at the same time. (image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, March 12 (Korea Bizwire) – Korea’s first biomass power plant will be constructed at Hoengseong, a town famous for Korean cattle known as hanwoo, and will be powered by waste coming from the cows.
Korea East-west Power signed an MoU with Hoengseong County of Gangwon Province to build the power plant on March 12. The 10MW plant will not rely on carbon fuel such as coal, and will instead convert biomass to energy.
Cow dung will be collected, dried and formed into pellets, which will then be used as fuel. The power plant is expected to kill two birds with one stone by processing cattle waste and providing a supply of fuel at the same time.
The plant’s output will save around 60,000 tons of fuel annually, which represents 15.8 billion won in energy import costs.
In addition, by solving the problem of cattle waste processing, a main contributor to water contamination, local livestock farmers will be able to increase their herd numbers, which should lead to an increase in the profitability of their operations.
Cow dung will be collected, dried and formed into pellets, which will then be used as fuel. The power plant is expected to kill two birds with one stone by processing cattle waste and providing a supply of fuel at the same time. (image: Korea East-west Power)
By John Choi (johnchoi@koreabizwire.com)
