There is a flip side to the luxury equestrian lifestyle in Wellington, FL, where a large part of the economy is derived from the National Horse Show, the Winter Equestrian Festival and the sport of polo: Wellington’s horse population produces more than 100 tons of horse manure per day.

Because the Village of Wellington, in Palm Beach County, does not allow stockpiling, mountains of manure are hauled off to surrounding agricultural areas for use as compost. But the Florida department of environmental protection is concerned because horse manure is high in phosphates, which leak into shallow water systems like the Florida Everglades, endangering natural habitat and wildlife.

On October 9, the Wellington Village Council unanimously authorized negotiations with a local company to solve the problem. Wellington Energy LLC wants to build a plant that will turn the manure into electrical energy and sell it to Florida Power and Light. Headed by local equine veterinarian Scott Swerdlin, Wellington Energy proposed the power plant, after the Village began searching for a permanent solution to the manure dilemma over a year ago.

According to Swerdlin’s proposal, the power plant would burn 5.4 tons of manure an hour and put out about 1.5 megawatts, enough to power up to 1,000 large homes. The company hopes to sell the power to Florida Power & Light. The company says it would take about 18 months to build the plant, which must be the only place residents can dump manure in the village, in order to keep it running.