Human sewage to power thousands of homes
Human sewage will power thousands of homes under a revolutionary projected being trialled in Manchester.
The £4.3 million scheme will see enough methane gas extracted from human waste to provide fuel for heating and cooking for up to 5,000 homes by 2011.
The project is the first of its kind in Britain and the biomethane is being hailed as a "fuel for the future" because of its green credentials.
It will be run from the city's Davyhulme waste water treatment works, which is Britain's second biggest sewage works, and the gas will be supplied through the local pipeline network.
Further plants are expected to be built in the future, bringing the renewable fuel to hundreds of thousands of British homes.
United Utilities, the energy company behind the scheme, won financial backing from Defra on Monday through its Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP).
Caroline Ashton, United Utilities biofuels manager, said: "This funding will give the project a huge boost. The people of Manchester will soon be using `poo power' to heat their homes."
Biogas is produced when wastewater sludge is broken down by the action of microbes in a process known as `anaerobic digestion'.
The biogas then needs to be upgraded to biomethane, which is a renewable fuel with similar properties to natural gas.
Biomethane can be safely compressed for use in vehicles or injected into the gas grid.
The gas produced at Davyhulme will also be used to power the utilities firm's sludge tankers and burned to provide electricity to the plant.
Mrs Ashton said: "Sewage treatment is a 24-hour process, so there is an endless supply of biogas.
"It is a very valuable resource and it's completely renewable. By harnessing this free energy we can reduce our fuel bills and reduce our carbon footprint."
The scheme is being run in collaboration with National Grid. Janine Freeman, its head of Sustainable Gas Group, said: "Biomethane is a fuel for the future.
"Renewable electricity from sources such as wind power is already available, but this is the first time we will be able to supply renewable gas to consumers.
"Not only are we reusing a waste product, but this is a renewable fuel, so we are helping to meet the country's target of 15 per cent of all our energy coming from renewable sources by 2020.
"This pilot project should supply gas to about 500 homes, and the overall potential of biomethane from a plant like Davyhulme would be to supply a small town of about 5,000 homes."
Several plants in Europe are already using the method to power homes and businesses.
Dr Richard Swannell, director of retail and organics at Wrap, said: "The project aims to be the first in the UK to process and inject biomethane into the gas grid on a commercial scale.
"By using biomethane as a fuel for sludge tankers, it could also help our country make more widespread use of renewable energy."
The pure methane produced by the plant will be clear and almost identical to the gas that comes from the North Sea.
Like raw North Sea gas, it will also be odourless and will have to be given an artificial 'gas' smell before it is piped into people's homes.
It is hoped the project will be up and running by 2011.
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