Sweden Using the Power of Waste

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Summary:

The city of Kristianstad in Sweden "essentially use no oil, natural gas or coal to heat homes and businesses, even during the long frigid winters." This city is an epicenter for agriculture, and

so, they produce energy from many different objects, such as potato peels and even pig intestines. Stale cookies too! A power plant uses a biological process to turn the waste into a form of methane,

called biogas, which is then refined to fuel cars or burned to create electricity and heat. Soon enough, the city of Kristianstad started burning and refining gas from landfills and sewage ponds.

In Kristianstad, there are many biogas plants, but in the United States, they are rare, with only around 151 of these types of plants, and they mostly use manure too. Even in Germany, there are about 5,000 biogas plants.There are so little of these biogas plants in the United States because costs are too high and not many places to sell this biogas to, which is caused by people not creating enough energy for residents.

Biogas still gives off about the same amount of emissions as natural gas, but biogas can be used for fuel, heat, and even electricity while natural gas is mainly used for fuel and heat

ing. Coal is our main source of electricity, but switching to biogas could reduce emissions by more than half, since 51% of our electricity is made with coal. Biogas saves money too. Kristianstad uses about $3.2 million a year to heat buildings in contrast to the $7 million it would of spent without biogas. Also, they did not need to buy half a million

dollars worth of fuel.

Although vehicles would need to be changed in order for it to run on biogas fuel, it reduces the amount of oil needed.

Reaction:

People have already started using waste as a source of energy. This is great, since Kristianstad uses almost no oil, natural gas, or coal too. They do not need to buy and import sources of energy/fuel anymore, which also saves money. I think this is great, using things such as potato peels and even stale cookies to produce energy, fuel, and even heat for everyone. It reduces the amount of waste in landfills and uses sewage waste from ponds, which stop more water pollution. On the other hand, it still gives off emissions that are about the same as naturals gas. Other sources of energy, such as solar power, do not give off much emissions, but this process reduces waste. Natural gas, though, produces the least amount of emissions when compared to oil and coal, which is good. Overall, I think this is a great way to get energy.

1. Where is biogas being used as a main source of energy?
2. About how many biogas plants are there in the United States?
3. The emissions for biogas is about the same as...?
4. How much money did this city save for heating?
5. Do you think people would be willing to buy another car that is compatible with biogas fuel?