An innovative facility that converts poultry waste into electricity and is served by local electric cooperative Pitt & Greene Electric Membership Corporation recently began operation in the Pitt County town of Farmville. North Carolina Electric Membership Corporation (NCEMC), the power supplier for most of North Carolina’s electric cooperatives, will purchase electricity generated by the $32 million Carolina Poultry Power facility.
Photo Credit: Claire Edwards
In addition to buying power generated from the poultry waste, NCEMC is also purchasing Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) from the facility that can be used to meet poultry waste requirements under the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Portfolio Standard (REPS) adopted in 2007. One REC is created for every 1 megawatt-hour (1,000 kilowatt hours) of electricity generated by a renewable energy source. The majority of RECs must come from in-state renewable energy producers, which helps bolster the development of renewable energy facilities in our state, providing jobs and strengthening our economy.
“It’s exciting to see a unique facility like this take shape within a cooperative community,” said Mark Suggs, executive vice president and general manager of Pitt & Greene EMC. “Agriculture is incredibly important to this region, and we’re proud to support this key industry while also encouraging local job creation, economic development and sustainability.”
“Partnerships like this play a central role in helping us to diversify our power supply resources by incorporating more renewables,” said Mike Burnette, NCEMC’s senior vice president of power supply and chief operating officer. “This is a win-win for North Carolina’s energy and agriculture sectors as we work together to achieve a brighter energy future for our state.”
Carolina Poultry Power is the flagship project of the Power Resource Group, which is also headquartered in Farmville. It processes 200 tons per day of poultry waste from local farms into a high quality fuel that is converted into approximately 165,000 megawatt-hours of electricity and steam energy per year. A consortium of other utilities, including Statesville-based electric cooperative EnergyUnited, Duke Energy, Virginia Electric and Power Company (Dominion North Carolina) and the Fayetteville Public Works Commission, are also purchasing RECs from the project.
“It was truly a pleasure to work with Pitt & Greene EMC on this innovative project,” said Richard Deming, CEO of the Power Resource Group and managing partner of Carolina Poultry Power. “The close working relationship and focus from the team was critical in getting interconnection done in a timely manner, and NCEMC was a fantastic partner in navigating complex issues. Partnering with the electric cooperatives has been an excellent experience.”
This partnership is just one example of the ways North Carolina’s electric cooperatives are working with and supporting our state’s agriculture and agribusiness industries. Learn more about our long-standing commitment and contributions to the agricultural community at ncelectriccooperatives.com/agriculture.