Central Vermont Public Service is pioneering Cow Power, which turns cow manure into electricity. The five farms currently in the program produce anywhere from 1.3 million to 3.5 million KWH per year.
How it works: Cow manure is fed into an anerobic digester which creates biogas to power an electrical generator and provide heat. Excess power goes into the grid. The remaining dry, solid waste is odorless and can be used as sawdust or as bedding for animals.
So, rather than having a huge disposal problem from all that manure, it is now completely recycled.