Electric Eels – Could This Be Another Solyndra?

I recently saw a headline that really made me worry.  Could it be true?  Workers at the Living Planet Aquarium in Sandy, Utah have found a way to use a very alternative way to power Christmas lights.  The energy to power the lights is being generated by an electric eel.  The project manager, Terry Smith says that every time the eel moves, the power it generates is transferred through stainless steel electrodes to a sequencer that flashes the lights fast or slow depending on the eel's energy output.  The aquarium's public relations director, Angie Hyde says,

The display helps visitors get a real sense of how amazing this creature is.

So, the public relations director says it's a display of how amazing the eel is?  First off,  just wait until PETA finds out about this use of a creature to accomplish work.  Second, I wonder what the wage and hour people will say about this creature being abused in this manner without pay, FICA or medical benefits.  Thirdly, I hope some environmental nut job doesn't find some way to talk the Obama Administration into financing this as an alternative fuel source.  Could we have another half-billion dollar Solyndra boondoggle on our hands in these tough economic times?  Weird but possible I think.