Businesses use AD to combat greenhouse gas emissions

Dominion Energy and Smithfield Foods are working together in order to ‘transform’ the future of sustainable energy and agriculture by announcing their Align Renewable Natural Gas (RNG) project.

The RNG project will capture methane emissions from hog farms and then convert them into renewable energy that will later be used to heat and power residential homes as well as local businesses. The two companies have announced that their first projects will be in North Carolina, Virginia and Utah.   

The project plans on capturing methane that would otherwise be released into the atmosphere and then converting it into RNG as to significantly reduce methane emissions from the agriculture and energy industries.

RNG will be made from the methane generated from hog or dairy farms, landfills, wastewater treatment plants and food processing facilities. Traditionally-sourced natural gases can be reduced by capturing methane on hog farms and can also stop greenhouse gas from entering the atmosphere.

Through anaerobic digestion, the projects will capture and process methane largely from Smithfield’s company-owned and contract hog farms. After it has been collected, the natural gas will be transported to a central conditioning facility to be converted into RNG.    

President and chief executive officer of Smithfield Foods, Kenneth M. Sullivan said, “At Smithfield, we recognise true, enduring sustainability initiatives require collaboration with other proven innovators who share a similar vision. Dominion Energy is one such proven innovator and we are proud to partner with them in our longstanding pursuit of renewable energy.

He added, “Align RNG is part of our nationwide expansion of Smithfield Renewables, innovative projects designed to help meet our goal to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions 25% by 2025.”

Dominion Energy’s chairman, president and chief executive officer Thomas F. Farrell states, “Our companies recognise the urgent need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions for the future of our planet. RNG is an innovative and proven way to dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the agriculture industry by converting it into clean renewable energy.”