High costs, interconnection obstacles killed a swine gas-to-electricity venture in Sampson County • NC Newsline

Renewables Company Could Transform How Millions of Tons of Hog Waste are Managed in NC

Martin Redeker and Joe Carroll spent more than five years toiling in a windowless steel barn in Duplin County, perfecting a low- to no-emissions technology they said would transform how hog waste could be used to generate electricity.

Such was the faith in the project that Montauk Renewables, a publicly traded company based in Pittsburgh, bought the company and brought Redeker and Carroll onboard. And last year, the new subsidiary, ZNC Turkey Creek, signed a Power Purchase Agreement with Duke Energy that would have helped the utility provide a portion of its electricity derived from swine waste, as legally required.

Now the interconnection project is dead after ZNC learned it could cost as much as $100 million and take at least eight years to tie into the Duke Energy grid, N.C. Utilities Commission documents show.

And unless the commission approves ZNC’s amended proposal, the company says it will have to absorb millions of dollars in losses and potentially cancel other aspects of the venture altogether.

An “expensive and convoluted process”

Commission filings detail the obstacles ZNC faced in trying to connect to the electric grid. And for alternative energy sources – the fledgling swine and poultry waste sectors, but especially solar, battery storage and wind – these challenges and delays are typical and getting worse.

“This expensive and convoluted process of attempting to connect to the grid is happening in North Carolina – and everywhere,” said Nancy LaPlaca, an energy policy consultant for Third Act, which engages older Americans in climate action, elections and democracy. “Nationwide, there is double the entire electric capacity of the U.S. sitting in active interconnection queues.”

Last year, ZNC dismantled its reactor – a labyrinth of pipes and catwalks and chambers – and moved it from Duplin County to a 500,000-square-foot former warehouse along Highway 24 in Turkey, in Sampson County.

From there, ZNC planned to truck in swine waste – totaling tens of thousands of tons each year – from lagoons at area farms. The waste would then be fed into an oxygen-free chamber, where it would be subjected to extremely high temperatures – a process known as pyrolysis – until it became biogas.

The gas would then be fed to microturbines and converted to electricity to sell to Duke Energy, which would also purchase renewable energy credits from ZNC.

ZNC estimated that when its plant became fully operational, it would generate enough energy to power more than 5,000 homes and businesses.

This method, company vice president Redeker previously told Newsline, would reduce the amount of waste accumulating in the lagoons, and in turn reduce the odors plaguing neighbors of the farms. It could even be more climate-friendly: Since the waste would be removed more often, there would be less time for methane to escape from the lagoons. And since the biogas would be produced in a “closed-loop” system, there would be little, if any air emissions, Redeker said.

(Diesel trucks that would have transported the waste would still emit greenhouse gases. Critics of swine gas production note that even this type of waste removal still entrenches the outdated lagoon-and-sprayfield model of concentrated animal feeding operations.)

As part of its confidential Power Purchase Agreement with Duke, ZNC submitted the required interconnection request last summer. This is routine: Companies that want to connect their projects to the grid must undergo a series of studies before they can be built. The studies establish the potential grid system upgrades and estimate and assign the costs to do so.

Even before entering the interconnection queue, companies can use maps, data and request information from the utility to get an initial sense of whether the project is feasible, Duke spokesman Jeff Brooks said.

But that doesn’t tell the full story, Carroll said. “The utility will only provide very limited information in response to those requests.”

By last fall, Duke had provided a Phase I report to ZNC, “which identified several obstacles that will render interconnection infeasible,” ZNC attorneys wrote to the Commission.

For starters, the cost of interconnection facilities and network upgrades would total $13.5 million, not including the costs of acquiring easements, and Duke “was unable to provide estimates of such costs,” the letter read.

Undeterred, ZNC hired additional engineers and land-use consultants for a second study phase. The results were even more dispiriting: ZNC would also have to spend another $80 million to $100 million over the next 15 years to construct, own, maintain and insure five miles of new conductors. Plus, the company would need broker agreements with dozens of private property owners for new rights-of-way.

Even if all those steps went smoothly, Duke would not begin to build the grid interconnection until the ZNC had acquired all of the rights-of-way and completely installed privately owned poles and power lines. That work would postpone the estimated interconnection date by eight years.

An alternative regulatory model

There is a different interconnection philosophy, one that is used in most of Texas, where ERCOT operates the grid, and in many parts of Europe, said Shelley Robbins, senior decarbonization manager with the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy. “That’s to basically interconnect most everything, but subject all resources to curtailment,” meaning energy producers have to adjust their outputs in order to keep the grid balanced.

Since Duke has a near-monopoly in North Carolina, ZNC has no other buyers for its electricity.

“Duke is indeed holding all of the cards, but because we don’t have a separate transmission operator here, Duke is responsible for the grid itself, and that includes reliability,” Robbins said.

The ability to connect to the grid without constraining its function depends on location and existing infrastructure. “Some parts of the Duke grid are constrained and don’t have the infrastructure to safely pick up the generated electricity,” Robbins said, which makes interconnection expensive because of the necessary upgrades.

In North Carolina, nearly 13,000 megawatts of energy capacity are idling in the interconnection queue, according to a report issued last month by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Solar and battery storage account for 92% of that capacity, followed by natural gas, wind and “other” — defined as biofuels, landfill gas, geothermal and hydropower.

Nationwide, interconnection wait times are also on the rise, according to the Berkeley Laboratory report. The typical time from connection request to commercial operation increased from less than two years for projects built from 2000 to 2007 to a median of five years for projects built in 2023

SDGs, Targets, and Indicators Analysis

1. Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?

• SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy
• SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure
• SDG 13: Climate Action
• SDG 15: Life on Land

The article discusses the challenges faced by renewable energy projects, particularly those related to swine waste, in connecting to the electric grid. These challenges are relevant to SDG 7, which aims to ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy for all. The article also highlights the need for infrastructure upgrades and technological advancements, aligning with SDG 9, which focuses on building resilient infrastructure, promoting inclusive and sustainable industrialization, and fostering innovation.

Furthermore, the article mentions the potential environmental benefits of the proposed technology, such as reducing waste accumulation and methane emissions. This connects to SDG 13, which addresses climate action and aims to combat climate change and its impacts. Lastly, the article touches on the management of waste from concentrated animal feeding operations, linking to SDG 15, which focuses on protecting, restoring, and promoting sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems.

2. What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?

• Target 7.2: Increase substantially the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix.
• Target 9.1: Develop quality, reliable, sustainable, and resilient infrastructure.
• Target 13.2: Integrate climate change measures into national policies, strategies, and planning.
• Target 15.3: Combat desertification, restore degraded land, and strive to achieve a land degradation-neutral world.

The article highlights the potential of using swine waste to generate renewable energy, contributing to Target 7.2 of increasing the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix. The challenges faced by the project in connecting to the grid also emphasize the need for resilient infrastructure, aligning with Target 9.1. Additionally, the proposed technology aims to reduce methane emissions and manage waste, supporting Target 13.2 on integrating climate change measures. Lastly, the article mentions the reduction of waste accumulation, which relates to Target 15.3 on combating desertification and land degradation.

3. Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?

• Percentage of renewable energy in the energy mix
• Investment in renewable energy infrastructure
• Reduction in methane emissions from waste management
• Extent of land degradation and restoration efforts

The article does not explicitly mention specific indicators. However, progress towards the identified targets can be measured using indicators such as the percentage of renewable energy in the energy mix, which reflects progress towards Target 7.2. Investment in renewable energy infrastructure can also be used as an indicator for Target 9.1. Reduction in methane emissions resulting from improved waste management practices can be an indicator for Target 13.2. Lastly, monitoring the extent of land degradation and restoration efforts can provide insights into progress towards Target 15.3.

Table: SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

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Fuente: ncnewsline.com

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