It's Not Always Easy Going Green
This story appeared on the CBS Evening News.
Tonight we're at Legion Field, home of the Indianapolis Indians.
Indiana's been aggressive about investigating alternative fuels. It has seven ethanol plants and a fledgling wind power program.
But when it comes to sheer inventiveness, one small town takes the cake.
Reynolds, Ind., isn't much more than a crossroads. Only 500 people live there. But what they do have is plenty of is pigs. In fact they're filthy with them …150,000 in all.
A few years ago, the small town had a big idea: What if the pigs could power the whole town?
"If you look at your gas and electric bill, it'll motivate you to do something. We have to do something," said Rick Buschman, who's on the Reynolds Town Board.
They traded in their cars for "flex-fuel" vehicles, so they could fill up with an ethanol blend made from local corn. And that's now a full dollar cheaper than regular gas.
But beyond that, Reynolds residents have found it isn't easy going green.
"There's been a whole lotta hoopla, but a little bit of nothing," said resident Chris Fullerton.
They broke ground on the plant to turn pig waste into power in 2006. But today, it's still an empty field.
"We're into a situation where sometimes the technology just isn't what we expected," said Cary Aubrey of the Indiana Department of Agriculture.
The ladies of the Reynolds Card Club aren't ready to throw in their hands just yet.
"I thought things were supposed to be up and operational by 2009," said Trudy Brehmer. And obviously they're not going to be."
Down the road, one of the nation's largest dairy farms is proving that on a smaller scale, it can be done … you can use livestock to light your home.
"Each cow produces 100 pounds of manure a day. So we have a pretty good source of raw supply," said Gary Corbitt, who runs Fair Oaks Farm.
That's enough methane gas to power all of Fair Oaks Farm – or more than 700 homes.
"Ooh, it's, um, pungent!" I said.
"Well we like to say that's the smell of money!" Corbitt said.
At least, he hopes so. They installed the technology 18 months ago, and so far they're barely breaking even.
"It's been expensive but we're absolutely convinced it is the way to go and it is the future," he said.
