Company experiements with smoking grass to make electricity

A power company cooperative in southeastern Iowa is making a move today toward a different type of energy.The Chariton Valley R-C-and-D and Alliant Energy are test-firing the boiler in Ottumwa that’ll use about four thousand tons of switchgrass. The grass, which is grown all around the region, will be burned instead of coal to produce electricity. This test run will be followed by increasingly larger burns in the coming months. Company officials hope it’ll eventually lead to the widespread use of switchgrass for energy. Supporters say the grass is an environmentally sound fuel source that’s relatively easy for farmers to grow and can help reduce dependence on fossil fuels.