A joint venture to capture the methane emissions from hog farms and turn them into renewable energy has been formed by Dominion Energy and Smithfield Foods.

The initial projects of Align Renewable Natural Gas will be located in North Carolina, Virginia and Utah. The energy produced will be used to power local businesses and heat residential homes.



In a statement earlier this week, Dominion Energy said that capturing methane from hog farms would lower the use of traditionally sourced natural gas and stop greenhouse gas from entering the atmosphere.



The renewable natural gas can be stored and delivered to companies and homes via "existing natural gas infrastructure," Dominion added.



Virginia-based Smithfield Foods says it is the world's largest pork processor and hog producer while Dominion Energy, which is also headquartered in Virginia, has almost 6 million customers across 19 states.



"Our companies recognize the urgent need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions for the future of our planet," Thomas F. Farrell, II, Dominion Energy's chairman, president and CEO, said in a statement Tuesday.



Farrell described renewable natural gas as an "an innovative and proven way to dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the agriculture industry by converting it into clean renewable energy."