Vt. ski resort to run lift with power from manure

KILLINGTON, Vt. -- Vermont's Killington ski resort says it's going to power one of its lifts this season with electricity generated from methane gas recovered from cow manure.

The resort is planning to power its K-1 Express Gondola with electricity generated through Green Mountain Power's Cow Power program, which enables customers to purchase all or part of their electricity at a premium and support Vermont's dairy farms

The program works by collecting cow manure, mixing it with wash water from the milking equipment and then pumping that slurry into a digester where it is heated for three weeks. The process converts the manure into biogas that is 60 percent methane.

The methane is then used to power a generator, which sends power to the electric grid.