Using horse manure to power horse shows
Finnish energy company Fortum had developed a circular renewable energy service, dubbed HorsePower, that used recycled materials to provide a bedding management service for stable-owners, as well as using manure for energy. Wood by-products from Finland’s forest industry were first turned into horse bedding, which was delivered to stables. The company then collected the manure and used bedding from the stables and delivered it to Fortum’s Järvenpää power plant, where the waste was burned to generate heat and electricity.
Unfortunately, with the sale of the Järvenpää power plant in the summer of 2020, the programme came to an end on 28 February 2021.
The HorsePower service provided 100% of the power for the Helsinki International Horse Show, delivering wood-based bedding to the 250 horses attending the show and taking 135 tonnes of the manure/bedding mixture produced to Fortum’s power plant, where it generated around 140 MWh – enough to power the lighting, scoreboards and all other electricity needs of the show.
The service was offered in the region of Southern Finland in 2017-2019, providing manure maintenance for large and small units and producing energy equivalent to the annual needs of around 6 500 detached houses.