Dive Brief:

A Colorado developer has begun construction on a $100 million facility in North Carolina that will take pig waste and convert it into pipeline-quality methane gas for use in Duke Energy power plants.

North Carolina has a statewide goal for power produced using farm waste, but generating energy from swine poop has been a challenge. The state has extended goal deadlines five times, most recently in October.

But the Carbon Cycle Energy 125,000 MWh of energy annually, with gas from the plant.

Dive Insight:

Duke officials say the new plant will be a "major part" of its plan to help the state meet its swine power goals. The facility is expected to be operational 2018, and the News & Observer reports it will produce gas from a range of sources including poultry waste, animal remains and food processing scraps.

“This is a big development for biogas in North Carolina. It will be a major part of Duke Energy’s efforts to meet the carve out for swine waste-to-power in the state," said Duke spokesman Randy Wheeless.

Earlier this year, Duke announced that a 15-year contract the Carbon Cycle Energy plant will produce more than 1 million MMBtus of pipeline-quality captured methane a year. That gas should yield about 125,000 MWh of renewable energy a year, or enough to power about 10,000 homes.

Renewable energy credits generated by the effort will help satisfy state goals, the company said. Swine waste is supposed make up 0.07% of the utility's annual sales, a 2012 goal which has so far eluded the state. Poultry droppings were supposed to generate 170,000 MWh of electricity from all of the utilities; that goal has been reached.

Duke said that methane produced by the Carbon Cycle plant will be used at the Buck Steam Station in Rowan County; Dan River Steam Station in Rockingham County; H.F. Lee Station Combined Cycle Plant in Wayne County; and the Sutton Combined Cycle Plant in New Hanover County.