The heat content of poultry poo?

A power plant in Benson, MN uses burns 700,0000 tons of turkey litter combined with agricultural biomass to generate up to 55 MW of power.

The obvious question for any engineer - what is the heat content of poultry poo? (for non engineers, that just means how much energy can you squeeze out of it?)

One source says 6,200 BTU/lb.

Lower than lignite (a low quality coal) - around 8,000 BTU/lb, and much lower than bituminous coal at 13,000 BTU/lb, but hmm not bad.

It is not suprisingly more energy intesive than wood/wood waste which is around 4-5,000 BTU/lb.

Such plants aren't without thier controversies. Some contend these plants emit relatively high levels of toxic emissions, and as a combustion process, it contributes to greenhouse gasses.

I wouldn't say this kind of biomass is a green option, until we start using less energy, increasing non-combustion energy methods (nuclear, solar, wind), we will burn whatever is economical to do so.