UK: Waitrose invests in cow power
Waitrose, a UK-based supermarket chain, has started using cow manure to power tractors at one of its farms. The move is part of the company's plan to achieve net zero.
The manure, produced by 500 cattle is harvested and upgraded, producing a type of fuel called fugitive biomethane, which is used to power machinery. The process also significantly reduces the farm's carbon footprint.
Waitrose has constructed a new facility that produces sustainable fuel, with the potential to reduce up to 1,300 tonnes of carbon emissions annually. The facility features a covered lagoon that is the size of two and a half Olympic swimming pools, which holds an energy-rich fluid extracted from farmyard manure.
The entire process is circular, beginning with cows grazing on the fields, producing manure which is then used to capture methane gas and refine it. The leftover digestate, a natural fertiliser, is then returned to the fields. To power the monitoring system for the facility, solar panels installed on the farm buildings are used.
Photo by Jakob Cotton on Unsplash
