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Better Farming Ontario Featured Articles

Better Farming Ontario magazine is published 11 times per year. After each edition is published, we share featured articles online.


Electric power from potatoes

Monday, February 28, 2011

Slices of freshly cooked potatoes can provide electricity for remote, off-grid communities, says a research team at the University of Jerusalem. A slice of potato can generate light for 20 hours, and several slices could power simple medical equipment, or even a low-powered computer.

The work was described last year in the Journal of Renewable and Sustainable Energy and hinges on a recent discovery that electricity flows from membranes disrupted by boiling. Potato batteries are estimated to generate electricity at a cost of about US$9 per kilowatt hour, about the same cost as AA alkaline batteries. D cells generate electricity for about $50/kWh.

Expect to see another debate about "food or energy" to develop. The "antis" argue that these "food batteries" would be grown and used in areas of Africa where food may already be in short supply. Proponents, on the other hand, say many potatoes can't be moved to city markets in time to prevent them from rotting. BF
 

Current Issue

December 2025

Better Farming Magazine

Farms.com Breaking News

Winter Farm Meeting with Keynote and Networking

Friday, November 21, 2025

The Grey Soil & Crop AGM and Winter Meeting , as well as Social Tradeshow will take place on December 18, 2025, from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Bognor Community Centre in Bognor, Ontario. The evening format is new this year, offering participants a warm and welcoming environment to connect... Read this article online

Canadian Farmers Seek Fair Succession Tax Reform

Thursday, November 20, 2025

Family farmers across Canada are urging the federal government to update tax rules that they say no longer reflect the reality of modern farming families. Current laws under the Income Tax Act allow farmers to transfer their farms to their own children without immediate tax... Read this article online

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