This archive report was first published on 28 October 2019.
As the world seeks cleaner alternatives to fossil fuels, power companies in Finland are pioneering a novel approach to harnessing energy from an unexpected source: animal waste.
At the Helsinki International Horse Show, a staggering 100 tonnes of manure was collected and incinerated at the Järvenpää power plant, generating 150 megawatts of electricity – enough to power the entire four-day event and heat homes in the Finnish capital.
Fortum, the energy company behind the 'Horse Power' initiative, claims that the daily manure produced by two horses can generate heat for a single family home for a year, while just 200 millilitres is enough to charge a phone.
Meanwhile, Vantaan Energia is urging dog owners to 'give poo a new life' by sending their pets' waste to a waste-to-energy incineration plant, where it is burned to produce efficient energy with limited emissions.
According to Vantaan Energia's production director, Kalle Patomeri, the initiative is a step towards the company's goal of becoming coal-free within two years.
As Finland continues to push the boundaries of sustainable energy, the use of animal waste as a power source is gaining traction, with dog trainer Marianne Mayer actively supporting the cause.
"Finally someone's doing something concrete about it, so you know it's going to be energy," she said. "Since we need to have other energy than fossils, it's going to be really positive."
"There are so many horses in Finland and of course many more around the world, so it would be amazing if we could turn all that poo into energy," Fortum's Krista Hellgren told AFP.
