The Maryland Board of Public Works approved a lease agreement for a facility at the Eastern Correctional Institution that will turn chicken manure into energy.
The board approved the agreement with ECOCORP Inc. on Wednesday.
The lease agreement was needed to build what's known as an anaerobic digester facility, which will supply a portion of power needs at the prison in Somerset County.
The digester will use heat to deodorize and sterilize manure, while using the methane gas it produces to generate electricity.
Officials hope to have the facility operational in June 2013.
Copyright AP - Associated Press
