Contributed
Carbon Cycle Energy, LLC (“C2e”) today announces that it has completed the acquisition of a tract of land from RSJ Properties, an affiliate of the Villari Food Group. The property located in Duplin County, North Carolina, is the future site of a facility that will produce utility-scale, renewable natural gas, known as biomethane.
The property purchase is the culmination of a three-year development effort by C2e. The planned facility will be constructed near the town of Warsaw. Anaerobic digesters at the plant will convert waste materials sourced from area food producers into biogas, a sustainable and renewable energy product. The biomethane produced by the plant will be injected into the Piedmont Natural Gas pipeline system and delivered to Duke Energy for use in production of electricity to serve its North Carolina utility customers.
In a separate transaction, C2e and The Pork Company, also an affiliate of the Villari Food group, have jointly executed a long-term feedstock supply agreement. Under the agreement, C2e will feed byproduct and waste effluent materials from The Pork Company’s pork processing operations into its anaerobic digesters. This process of extracting and capturing valuable methane and carbon dioxide will advance efforts in achieving US Energy Independence, and will also deliver a dramatic reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.
“At Carbon Cycle Energy it is our belief that we all have a responsibility to work together to achieve complete organic recycling, thereby creating positive, long-term, sustainable environmental benefits. Our process will reduce the amount of organic waste otherwise placed into landfills or applied to agricultural fields. Major benefits include odor control, reductions in fugitive air emissions, benefits to the regional watershed, and a significant reduction in the use of fossils fuels,” said Thomas Mulholland, C2e’s CEO—Business Development and Supply Chain.
C2e’s Duplin County biogas project was conceived in response to North Carolina legislation that requires investor-owned electric utilities within the state to source 12.5% of their electricity supply portfolio from renewable energy and energy efficiency by 2021. More than half of US states have similar renewable energy supply requirements. North Carolina, the country's second-largest pork producer with about 8.8 million hogs, requires utilities to generate electricity from swine and poultry wastes produced within the state. C2e’s project assists North Carolina in achieving these goals through its production of biogas from organic feedstocks sourced from swine and poultry operations. C2e’s facility also helps the State of North Carolina address its waste reduction objectives, and supports the sustainability and growth of its livestock production industries.
Villari Food Group Company Statement
“Our team is very excited to partner with Carbon Cycle Energy (C2e), supporting our companies’ joint efforts to operate in an environmentally-responsible manner while helping produce a sustainable energy source for the surrounding communities. Aligning our resources with C2e’s commitment to clean energy provides us with an optimistic outlook on the future of sustainable farming.” – Christopher Villari
Town of Warsaw Statement
“Warsaw is excited to see the hard work of C2e’s development and management team come to fruition. Key players at C2e have demonstrated an unwavering passion to make their vision a reality. We see it as a privilege and an honor to be able to work with such a dedicated group of individuals. Industrial development, coupled with an environmentally-sound renewable source of energy, will lead C2e and the Town of Warsaw into prosperity for years to come. This coupled with an immediate economic impact of new jobs and over a $100 million facility is a win-win- win for C2e, the Town of Warsaw, and the Environment.” – Scotty Summerlin, Warsaw Town Manager
Duplin County Economic Development
“The Duplin County Economic Development Commission and Duplin County are excited to see the Carbon Cycle Energy project continue to move forward. This project has the potential to have a very large direct and indirect economic impact on the county. I am excited for the development of Carbon Cycle Energy’s digester in Warsaw and to see the benefits it brings to our region.” James Wolfe – Executive Director, Duplin County Economic Development Commission.
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