| HAMILTON: New Zealand battery hen farmers have come up with a novel solution to the country's worsening energy crises. With the level of the South Island hydro lakes unlikely to rise before the beginning of summer these innovative farmers have come up with a solution that may ease our immediate energy needs and enable us to produce more electricity in the future.
Hamilton farmer Gavin Dawson has developed a method of harnessing the energy from his many caged battery hens by installing walking machines into the hen's cages. These machines have the twofold effect of both generating electricity and providing the battery hens with much needed exercise. Mr Dawson estimates that the method could generate over 40 GW of power if each of the ten million battery hens in New Zealand was given a similar walking machine. This would be enough electricity to supply power to a city the size of Timaru. Mr Dawson is currently investigating ways of harnessing the energy from the many hundreds of walking machines, rowing machines and exercycles in gyms throughout New Zealand. If successful the technique could generate an additional 100 GW of much needed power. If these Kiwi innovations prove effective they could produce the equivalent energy output of 3 Nuclear power stations if extended to every gym and hen battery throughout the world. 
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| Battery Hens to Help Ease Power Crisis |
Wednesday, 01 August 2001 12:00