WASHINGTON, March 24, 2016 - Duke Energy will buy
swine and poultry waste output from a facility planned for eastern North
Carolina and use the captured methane gas to generate renewable electricity
at four power stations. Carbon Cycle Energy
will build and own the facility, but the exact location has not yet been
announced.
Under North Carolina’s Renewable Energy Portfolio
Standard (REPS), Duke Energy companies must meet specific compliance targets
for swine and poultry waste. And with over 2,000 hog operations in the state,
there’s plenty of waste that can be converted.
In 2007, North Carolina’s REPS law was passed as part of
Senate Bill 3 – establishing a clean energy market in the state. It also
directed the state’s electric utilities to generate a portion of the state’s
electricity needs both from renewable energy resources and through energy
efficiency. That amount gradually increases until it reaches a maximum amount
of 12.5 percent by the year 2021.
Under a 15-year agreement, Carbon Cycle Energy is expected
to produce more than 1 million MMBtus
of pipeline-quality captured methane a year. Duke Energy should yield about
125,000 megawatt-hours of renewable energy, enough to power about 10,000 homes.
The renewable energy credits (RECs) generated annually by the effort will help
satisfy state mandates.
“We are pleased Duke Energy is supportive of our facility
in North Carolina,” says James Powell, CEO of Carbon Cycle Energy. “We
still have additional work to do with licensing, local regulations and
completing our organic waste supply chain. But having a confirmed buyer like Duke
Energy is a major step.”
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