Renewable Energy Revitalized By New Project (WPTZ News Story)
http://www.wptz.com/news/25506955/detail.html
Jackie Bender, Reporter
BRATTLEBORO, Vt. — A local business kicked off a project Monday that it thinks could revolutionize renewable energy while helping to feed those in need.
Brattleboro will soon have a self-sustaining greenhouse and aquaculture facility. Its generator is powered by the gas from the landfill where Carbon Harvest is building the facility.
“The key to it is using waste as a resource for renewable energy and then using the waste heat from renewable energy as a resource for growing food in cold climates,” said Carbon Harvest’s CEO Don McCormick. “The waste from one piece becomes the input for the next, and so on and so forth until you use everything on site.”
He said that the greenhouse and fish harvesting facility will provide organic food to area markets and the Vermont Foodbank.
“We’re really excited about the fish because high quality protein is one of the most difficult things for us to keep in stock and get out to our food pantries,” said Vermont Foodbank CEO Jon Sayles.
The fish tank will be self-sustaining too with an algae farm to feed the fish, and the fishes’ water will in turn feed the algae farm. McCormick hoped the planned 20,000-square-foot greenhouse and the 30,000-gallon tilapia tank will be an examples for other projects around the state and the country.