Making electricity from hog waste
Progress Energy, the
Raleigh-based electric utility, will evaluate the feasibility of
making electricity from hog waste, according to the N.C. Pork
Council.
The pilot project will be conducted with participation from hog
farms throughout the state, according to a news release from the
organization.
The study will include Murphy-Brown, Smithfield Foods' hog
production subsidiary based in Warsaw, and will be open to all
farmers in the state. Smithfield Foods is the world’s largest
pork producer.
Renewable-energy advocates contend that renewable energy — such
as animal waste, solar, wind and biomass -- could help offset
the need for coal and nuclear power as energy sources for
running electrical power plants. North Carolina is home to some
of the nation's largest hog producers, for whom turning hog
waste into fuel would eliminate a continuing environmental
concern.
Generating electricity from animal dung usually happens one of
two ways. One method is to dry the waste and burn it like coal
or wood. Another involves putting the waste into an anaerobic
digester and extracting flammable gases that can then be burned
like natural gas.
The pilot project will test a new technology for converting hog
waste into electricity, according to the Pork Council
announcement.
