Tuesday, August 23 2005 16:54 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Washington: With oil prices soaring and calls for increasing renewable supply of energy sources in the United States, some Americans have discovered what Indian villagers have long known -- dried cow dung made into "pies" can be used as fuel apart from its use as manure.

Cow manure was getting more attention as an alternative fuel source, particularly in Texas, America's biggest producer of cow patties. For years, researchers studied manure as a fertilizer. But at a time when state and federal energy bills called for increasing renewable energy sources, the focus shifted more on developing dung as an alternative to coal or natural gas, according to media reports.

"I see it as a valuable tool in our tool box," said John Sweeten, resident director of the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station in Amarillo. "Sixty-dollar-a-barrel oil recruits a lot of interest in biomass. At $10-a-barrel oil, there's not much interest."

The Panda Group of Dallas plans to fuel a $120 million ethanol plant set to open next year in Hereford with cow manure and other waste. The company said it will realize an energy savings equivalent to 1,000 barrels of oil per day turning manure and cotton gin waste into clean-burning fuel to power the plant.

Biomass is renewable organic matter, such as manure and crops like corn, grain sorghum and soybeans, all of which can be processed into ethanol. "Anything that's renewable and is at least competitive with other prices, it's better for everybody," said Donald L. Klass, director of Biomass Energy Research Association in Washington.