London's sewer-clogging 'Fatbergs' to be burned for power
Courtesy CNET. From Thames Water.
LONDON -- In perhaps the most gag-inducing example of an environmentally friendly power source we've found, London officials are hopping to burn off some of the large fat and oil deposits -- known as "fatbergs"- that clog the city's sewer system to generate power.
The "fatbergs" that congeal in the waterways and clog the system are a nuisance caused by unwanted deposits of grease down drains, officials said. Until now, officials have simply sent the bergs to a waste plant. The grease deposits are expected to produce 130 Gigawatt hours a year of renewable electricity, the BBC reported, enough to run 39,000 homes.
The burning will not produce any smoke or smell, officials said.
"It's a win-win situation," Rob Smith, Thames Water's technical coordinator, told the BBC.