Do you remember Biotown, USA? That was the name given to Reynolds in 2007 with fanfare. Reynolds is a community of about 500 people that illustrates what so often happens to our grand ideas.

The idea was to make Biotown as energy independent as possible. The fanfare made everyone think this was going to happen quickly and cheaply. Of course, this is an excellent idea and what all communities should be doing. What people didn’t stop to think about is that it takes a lot of money to pull off such a project and perhaps even more commitment. Most projects fail not because they are not doable, but because the dedication and commitment of the people falter.

The plan was to make biogas from the town’s sewage and agricultural waste. The biogas then would be used to provide electricity, fuel, and fertilizers for the town. They were making progress until the great recession hit. Most of their investors and the state pulled out of the project leaving town fathers with little more than mounting frustration.

However, some progress was made. The local gas station now sells E85 and B20, which it didn’t before. The town now probably has the highest concentration of flex-fuel vehicles in the state. The feeling still exists in the community that something needs to be done to conserve energy and produce energy from renewable sources along with a feeling of being let down.

The wastewater plant in town is old, so the town fathers are looking at replacing it. One of their concerns is to make the new plant much more energy efficient than the old one. They are looking at a process that uses algae to break down the waste.

This process is called the algae wheel. The algae wheel concept should use a lot less electricity than the plants build in the 1960s to move the waste, thus saving not only energy but money. The plant itself should be on line by now and producing.

The biogas plant that uses the solid remaining wastes is coming in step two. The solids that are produced can be used like manure to produce biogas, which then can be used to make electricity. In the end, the plant should not require any outside electricity and actually be able to sell some. 

The idea of using waste to make biogas, which is used to make fuels and electricity is a good one. It has worked other places. Waste is plentiful, look at the size of Mount Trashmore. There is also a growing need for electricity that comes from renewable sources. Perhaps, Logansport and Cass County should consider doing something similar.

The French, who seem to have a problem with everything, have become one of the more energy conscious countries in the world. They may not be able to fight wars, work a full day or make a car, but they have been dedicated to increasing energy efficiency since 1974. Just in the 1970s alone they brought 58 nuclear plants on line. The reason is obvious like many other European countries they have little or no local source of energy from fossil fuels.

The French have been averaging a decline in energy use as compared to the product produced at an annual rate of more than 1.1 percent. The French have taken a different tactic than Germany. They quickly went to the use of Nuclear energy after the energy crises of the 1970s. Today they are second world-wide in the use of energy from nuclear sources. The country they are second to is the USA. While nuclear energy is not renewable, it is one of the fuels that is expected to last the longest.  Nuclear while producing a very deadly waste actually produces very little of it. You could carry the fuel for a year on a nuclear aircraft in one hand according to most sources.

The clean renewable source that the French use the most is hydroelectric. They get 28 percent of their power from hydroelectric. They make use of just about any stream of any size flowing out of the Alps. Which is smart. In the US extending hydroelectric would be difficult because we already use most of the major streams for hydroelectric power. However, Canada and Alaska have more unused streams than they can count. Canada is actively seeking to harness Arctic area streams to produce electricity before the energy is lost as they flow into Hudson Bay and other areas.

The French also make wide use of biomass to produce energy. Actually, 50 percent of their energy comes from the burning of wood, which is biomass. This energy is renewable but not very clean. If you have been around where wood is burnt, you probably have seen the smoke and debris that come from the stove and settle on to everything.

Is there something we can learn from the French example? One, we could do more to encourage conservation of energy. Two, we could increase our use of nuclear energy. Third, and most of all, maybe we could get the message we need to do something!

That is what I think, what do you think?

• Gordon Southern is a columnist for the Pharos-Tribune. He can be reached through the newspaper at ptnews@pharostribune.com.