Few cities have been hit harder by the decline of the US auto industry than Flint, Michigan. As Detroit’s car makers fumble and falter, due in large part to their stubborn reluctance to be innovators in green technology, Flint has fallen on hard times. But the city is hoping to recast itself as a hub for green transportation by turning sewage into fuel for its bus fleet.
Partnering with local Kettering University and the Swedish company, Swedish Biogas International, Flint is looking to turn its municipal sewage into biogas, which officials hope will begin powering buses by next summer. Biogas is often seen as too expensive an alternative to gasoline, but Swedish Biogas President Peter Unden believes the Flint plant can produce biogas that is 20 percent less expensive than gasoline. City officials hope it will attract other renewable energy projects and investments. As Kettering University President Stanley R. Liberty explained, “the future will be based on a science-and-technology economy. GM was a startup company; we need to go back 100 years and rediscover the entrepreneurial spirit that existed here.”
