Poultry Waste Will Provide Power to NC Co-ops

Poultry is the No. 1 agricultural industry in North Carolina, with an annual economic impact of more than $37 billion, according to the NC Poultry Federation. And with such a large flock, chicken and turkey farms are left with an inevitable byproduct: poultry litter. A facility in Pitt County is creating an innovative use for some of this waste, providing power to electric cooperatives in the process.

Poultry power

The Farmville-based Carolina Poultry Power (CPP)project converts turkey waste into electricity and is served by local electric cooperative Pitt & Greene EMC, also based in Farmville. North Carolina Electric Membership Corporation (NCEMC), the power supplier for Pitt & Greene EMC and other electric cooperatives across the state, will purchase electricity generated by the $32 million poultry power facility.

“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.”

“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.”

Carolina Poultry Power is the flagship project of the Farmville-based Power Resource Group. It can process 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.

“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 CPP. “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.”

CPP Director of Operations Peyton Orr checks the water/air tube section of one of three boilers. Photo courtesy of Claire Edwards.

Renewable resource

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 adopted in 2007. One REC is created for every 1 megawatt-hour 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.

A consortium of other utilities, including the 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.

“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.”