In the United States (US), renewable energy services company Green Energy Sustainable Solutions, Inc. (GESS) has revealed plans for a US$35 million biogas plant in Robeson County, North Caroline (NC) which has been hard hit by Hurricane Florence. The plant is expected to eventually employ around three dozen people.
Home to more than 7 million hogs, North Carolina (NC) is the second largest pork producing state in the country. Eastern North Carolina, which relies heavily on farming and agriculture, has long been a major producer of hog waste. In 2007, North Carolina required utility companies to draw 0.2 percent of their power from swine biogas as part of the state’s push towards a clean energy initiative.
The announcement is the seventh renewable energy project for GESS in North Carolina. By building a biogas plant on local farms, GESS says that it creates an eco-friendly energy source that reduces waste odour and soil/water pollution, and whose byproduct, through anaerobic digestion (AD), produces organic fertilizer. The result is clean gas that can be sold to energy companies and converted to electricity. The process helps to create a strong relationship between GESS International and local communities and farmers.
Having recently filed with the NC Utilities Commision for the construction of plants that will each represent an investment of about US$30 million and employ 16-19 people, GESS continues to encourage job growth in many Eastern Carolina counties, build relationships with energy companies looking to purchase the low-cost energy alternative, and invest in local farming towns.
