Progress Energy to study 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.

The details of the new technology and the pilot program will be announced by Progress Energy, Smithfield Foods and the N.C. Pork Council at a news conference at 5 p.m. today at the State Capitol's General Assembly Press Conference Room.