Hog farmers in Virginia could soon be making money on an overlooked byproduct -- methane gas. Executives from Dominion Energy and Smithfield Foods released details on a new venture.
The two Virginia based companies have teamed up to capture and commodify a resource that currently just rises into the air from pig manure lagoons.
They’re billing the initiative as better for the environment.
“Because methane is 25x stronger than carbon dioxide as a greenhouse gas, reducing methane has a much more positive impact on climate than many other carbon reduction initiatives,” says Dominion CEO Tom Farrell.
Dominion can capture and convert the methane to natural gas. From there, the gas fuels power plants and heats homes. The two companies are investing $250 million into the project.
“The bottom line is it’s going to be an attractive proposition for family farms. It’ll help the on farm economics,” said Smithfield Foods CEO Ken Sullivan.
To see those returns, farmers will first have to pay for some of the equipment, which could cost up to $100,000. Sullivan says they’re working with banks to help provide financing.
Smithfield already has a similar system up and running on some farms in Missouri, as well as a pilot project in North Carolina.
With support from Dominion, they can drastically increase the size of the project to include farms in Virginia, North Carolina and Utah.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
