Duke Energy , the power giant that’s currently under investigation for possibly contaminating North Carolina water sources with coal ash, is now going to produce part of its power using livestock waste.
The largest electric holding company in the U.S. announced a 15-year partnership with Carbon Cycle Energy, a Boulder, Colo.-based company that will convert livestock waste into refined methane gas. Duke Energy is expected to produce 125,000 megawatt-hours of energy yearly from the captured methane. That’s enough to power about 10,000 homes.
“It is encouraging to see the technological advances that allow waste-to-energy projects in North Carolina to be done in an environmentally responsible and cost-effective manner for our customers,” said David Fountain, Duke Energy president. at 125,000 megawatts however, the biogas will account for less than one percent of the total electricity produced by Duke Energy.