Dominion Energy and Smithfield Foods partner on sustainable RNG project

The JV company, Align Renewable Natural Gas (RNG)^? will capture methane emissions from hog farms and convert them into clean renewable energy for residential home heating and power for local businesses.

By capturing methane that would otherwise be released into the atmosphere, the use of RNG leads to a significant reduction in methane emissions from the agriculture and energy industries.

RNG is produced from the methane generated from hog or dairy farms, landfills, wastewater treatment plants and food processing facilities. Capturing the methane from hog farms reduces the use of traditionally-sourced natural gas and keeps greenhouse gas from entering the atmosphere. It can be stored and delivered to homes and businesses through existing natural gas infrastructure, making it a cost-effective, renewable option.

The new JV will leverage Smithfield's relationships with contract farmers, who raise and care for its hogs, and the decades the company has spent studyingthe commercial viability of 'manure-to-energy' projects. Using a technology known as anaerobic digestion, the projects will capture and process methane from large clusters of Smithfield's company-owned and contract hog farms. Once collected at the farms, the natural gas will then be transported to a central conditioning facility where it will be converted into RNG.

Read the article online at: https://www.hydrocarbonengineering.com/clean-fuels/29112018/dominion-energy-and-smithfield-foods-partner-on-sustainable-rng-project/