Horse Illustrated Magazine

The Helsinki International Horse Show will bring top show jumpers and dressage riders to Finland’s capital city during its five-day run at the Helsinki Ice Hall. But what’s going on behind the scenes at this show is capturing headlines around the world due to the usage of horse waste.

All of the electricity to power this year’s show will come from Fortum Corporation’s Järvenpää power plant, which burns biofuel for energy production. The fuel for this type of power plant often comes from forestry waste, like woodchips, but Fortum’s HorsePower program loops local horse stables into the process.

Fortum provides bedding to stables that are part of its program, then removes waste—used bedding and manure—and uses that barn byproduct as biofuel. The program has been operating in an expanding region of Finland for a few years, and Fortum has recently expanded HorsePower to Sweden.

During the Helsinki International Horse Show, Fortum will provide the bedding for approximately 250 horses stabled at the showgrounds and remove an estimated 135 tons of used bedding and equine waste to fuel the power plant. The estimated energy consumption for the show is 140 MWh, which Fortum says requires the equivalent of the annual output of 14 horses.

This will be the first time in history that a horse show has been powered entirely by horse waste.

Read more at fortum.com.

Leslie Potter is a writer and photographer based in Lexington, Kentucky. www.lesliepotterphoto.com