A crematorium in the United Kingdom is planning on installing turbines on its furnaces, which are used to cremate human bodies, and would use the heat generated during the cremation process to provide the same amount of electricity as would power 1,500 televisions.
A third burner is to be used to provide heating for the site's chapel and its offices.
Alan José, the crematorium's superintendent and registrar, told the UK Telegraph, "We calculate that we will have far more electricity than we can possibly need so we would be feeding a reasonable amount into the grid."
"If there is genuine spare capacity to generate electricity then we are certainly interested in investigating that. And if it was thought to be acceptable in the eyes of the public we would almost certainly pursue that.
"Apart from it being common sense for us to try to conserve energy, it also enables us to keep the fees down."
According to the Telegraph, many crematoria are currently replacing their furnaces, to meet government targets on preventing mercury emissions from escaping into the atmosphere.
Up to 16 per cent of all mercury emitted in the UK comes from crematoria because of fillings in teeth. Left unchecked, that figure is predicted to rise to 25 per cent by 2020.
Dr John Troyer, from Bath University's Centre for Death and Society (CDAS), said such schemes were likely to increase, but only gradually.
"Conceptually and theoretical it is absolutely possible," he told the paper. "But when you are talking about how to handle dead bodies, you need to take time and move slowly, to avoid sounding too glib, insensitive or utilitarian."
What do you think of the plan to generate energy from burning bodies? Is this something you see coming to the United States? Or would you see this as desecrating the corpse?
SOURCE: http://www.northwestohio.com/news/story.aspx?id=693234#.TuIpFfKK9yI
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