A plan to power the Toronto Zoo with animal waste in a new, privately built biogas power plant went before Toronto's executive committee this week.
The proposal has been in the works at the zoo for more than a year, and only needs council approval before the zoo management can issue the request for proposal to involve the private sector.The executive committee recommended approval, following a report from the city manager going to council next week. If it goes ahead - and if the zoo manages to find a private sector builder-operator - it could make the zoo entirely carbon neutral, removing the equivalent of 15,000 tonnes of CO2 from the atmosphere each year."This new facility takes us to the next step," said zoo board member and city councillor Glenn De Baeremaeker. "It creates a biogas plant that would generate hopefully enough energy to power 100 per cent of the zoo's electrical needs - theoretically we could be off the grid and not have to use natural gas and the electrical grid."The plant would cost the zoo and the city nothing, which means it only requires formal approval from council - if successful, it won't impact on any city budgets.