Publication: The Daily Record

WOOSTER -- Who has more power, Gov. Ted Strickland or Ohio State University President Gordon Gee?

Pundits can debate the answer, but it was Gee who pushed a button Thursday at quasar energy group's Wooster biodigester that started the process of delivering power to the electrical grid.

Gee said the project was a perfect marriage between the private company and the public university. Researchers and scientists from Ohio State's Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center have and continue to assist the company with its efforts to convert biomass to energy.

Public-private partnerships, like the one between OARDC and quasar, are efforts to connect research at OSU facilities with commercial applications.

quasar takes waste materials, both solid and liquid, and converts the biomass to methane. Some of the methane is converted to electricity, some is captured as heat, some is being upgraded to compressed natural gas and the solids remaining after the process will become fertilizer.

Clemens Halene, vice president of engineering, showed Gee the company's facility on the OARDC campus. The company was the first tenant in the BioHio Research Park.

Halene told Gee he often says "we not only have to build up a company, but an industry."

While biodigesters are plentiful in Halene's native Germany -- there are about 4,000 there compared to around 250 in the United States -- the industry does not really exist, yet, here. quasar has built a biodigester in Zanesville, will soon complete one in Franklin County and has a contract for six more in Massachusetts.

Gee asked if OSU scientists and company leaders were borrowing and improving upon the German technology or creating their own.

"All" was Halene's simple answer. He noted there had to be some changes due to environmental regulations here.

Gee, who referred to the Wooster biodigester as the "mothership," expressed pleasure quasar considered Ohio the hub from which to expand its operations.

When Gee asked if OSU and OARDC were the recipients of the good work being done at quasar, President Mel Kurtz said not until Gee powered up the biodigester to connect with the power grid.

Before Gee started the process, he looked to the crowd of university officials and said, "If it blows up, remember me I was a clever, witty guy."

Shortly after he pressed the button, Halene showed him how many kilowatts were being added to the power grid.

"I didn't screw it up," Gee said.

The Wooster biodigester will deliver about 0.5 megawatts to the power grid, which Halene said was a small amount. He did tell Gee it was enough to power about one-third to one-half of the OARDC campus.

Reporter Bobby Warren can be reached at 330-287-1639 or bwarren@the-daily-record.com.