The STRAIGHT Poop

As little as possible.

As was mentioned in the post So – They have Tried to Convince You to Be Concerned about Fibrowatt’s Water Usage…, the Fibrominn plant typically uses about 100 – 125 gallons per minute (gpm) of water, most of which is used to reduce air emissions from the plant.

Is this a lot of water? No.

To put it this in perspective – go to your local hardware store or home improvement center, buy five – ¾” diameter garden hoses, take them home, hook one up at your house and at four neighbor’s houses, and if your local water pressure is normal, together you would be using as much water as the entire 55 megawatt (MW) Fibrominn Biomass Power Plant. Read more »

Like most people, you have probably noticed that power plants are often located next to a river, lake or the ocean. This location is not a surprise as power plants typically have required significant water resources for cooling purposes.

When Fibrowatt began development of it projects in North Carolina, local opposition would often try to convince people that a Fibrowatt plant would be a huge water user. This concern sometimes resonated with local residents as it was built on the above perception that – if it’s a power plant, it is a “gigantic” facility, and therefore must have a “gigantic” appetite for water.

Is this a valid concern about a Fibrowatt plant? Not Even Close

The Fibrominn plant in Minnesota requires very little water – as it was designed with an air-cooled condenser for cooling (as opposed to the use of a wet cooling tower as is often seen at power plants). The plant design and operations also include significant steps to recycle or reuse water. In North Carolina, Fibrowatt plants will use this same low water-use technology and efforts are being taken to further reduce external process water use associated with the air emissions control systems. Fibrowatt recognizes the importance of water resources in these agricultural communities and seeks to minimize its use. Fibrowatt plants are not major water users – a fact that is often purposefully ignored by local opposition. Read more »

As you can see on our website, Fibrowatt has an interest in developing projects in a number of states, including Georgia. Interest in Georgia should not be a surprise as Georgia is the largest agricultural producer of broiler chickens in the U.S., with an annual value of greater than $4 billion. Poultry production is the largest segment of the Georgia agricultural economy by far.

While Fibrowatt has long been interested in Georgia, to develop a project in a particular area requires that a number of key factors fall in place – mainly the interest in power companies to purchase the renewable energy generated from such a plant, the interest of area growers in such a solution, and of course the interest of a local community to host such a plant. Read more »

On July 11, 2010 the Wall Street Journal published an article “Looking to Litter” that highlights Fibrowatt and how the company has developed a distinctive approach to renewable energy. By utilizing a resource like poultry litter, Fibrowatt has not only developed a unique niche in the U.S. renewable energy marketplace but it has done so to the benefit of the poultry industry – providing a sustainable solution for what poultry growers generate in large quantities – poultry litter.

By highlighting Fibrowatt’s unusual fuel, the Journal also suggests what Fibrowatt has been emphasizing for quite some time – that it is increasingly important that the U.S. embrace a whole host of materials as valuable renewable resources.

As we all know, online resources can be a great way to get information. Get on the ‘net and you have a freeway to a load of information. Sometimes when I’m looking for something I go online and look at product reviews. I find one – but there is one problem – the product review is extremely old, too old to call it reliable. The question that has to be asked is how accurate the information I’m looking at is?

For instance, if I wrote all over the internet that I was a millionaire, you’d possibly believe it. I would love to be, but unless that daily scratch off has a big surprise for me, I’m absolutely nowhere near being a millionaire – despite what had been said and what you may believe. The point is don’t believe everything you read online.

Have you ever “Googled” Fibrowatt? I have. If you have, I am pretty sure you found the same things that I’ve found. When you “Google” Fibrowatt, you find a ton of information. Some of it’s good – some of it’s bad. But what is the truth?

Of the many websites and information that does come up, there is one called FibroWatch. See for yourself – read it – seems like pretty scary stuff!

Well now, let’s look a little closer. How accurate is that information? Read more »