Dead cows to provide green energy
(30 January 2007)

A former abattoir in northern Scotland is pioneering a new source of biofuels - dead cows.

The Oran Group is turning the site at Kintore in Aberdeenshire into a biofuels installation which generates electricity from burning cow by-products supplied by local abattoirs, including blood and bonemeal.

General manager Ben Ballantyne told the BBC one major energy-saving aspect of the plant was the fact that the biomass fuel had previously been transported hundreds of miles away to be processed.

The Oran group hopes to have the plant up and running in three years with a rendering facility at the plant adding to the production of biomass.

It estimates that the eventual energy output will be enough to power 9,000 homes.

Scottish deputy first minister Nicol Stephen said: "This is an exciting project that will help Scotland reach its target of producing 18 per cent of our electricity by 2010 from renewable sources."