It seems keeping in good shape is no more limited to humans, cows too have joined the league. Why else would you find cows walking on treadmills? Jokes apart, but this unusual practice is being performed in a livestock power mill. A Northern Ireland farmer rather than letting his cows wander free in the meadow while grazing, is generating energy with their motion. It’s said that cows spend some eight hours a day walking while they gaze. William Taylor has come up with an ingenious way of putting the energy that goes for waste into use.
Taylor lets his cows stand on a non-powered inclined belt that is slid when the animal walks, which spins a gearbox to drive a generator, squeezing out energy. He claims that a cow on a treadmill can produce nearly two kilowatts of power, which is sufficient to keep four milking machines going. If a farm has some 50 cows, the cow system would earn back estimated $100,000 price within three years. Apart from the green energy produced, the other benefits are cows that exercise produce more milk and reduce methane producing by cows burping. An odd, yet ingenious idea.
Via: Gizmodo