A Look into North Carolina's Bioenergy Resources through Waste-Carbon Harvesting Presented by: Gus Simmons, P.E. Cavanaugh & Associates, P.A. UNC-C Bioenergy Symposium May 14, 2015
Today s Presentation: 1. Introduction / Background a. Why Bioenergy in North Carolina? 2. Describing the Bioenergy Production Potential a. Organic Waste from People b. Organic Waste from Agriculture 3. Comparative Resource Analysis 4. Summary 2
Reasons for Bioenergy from Waste Organics Development in NC 3
Reason for Bioenergy in NC #1: Agricultural Economy North Carolina Agricultural Economy: 1 st in sweet potatoes produced 2 nd in the US in pigs produced 2 nd in the US in turkeys produced 2 nd in Christmas trees produced 3 rd in cucumbers produced 4 th in the US in broilers produced Source: USDA, NASS 4
Reason for Bioenergy in NC #1: Agricultural Economy North Carolina Agricultural Economy: 52,218+ Farms in North Carolina 8,414,756 acres+ Land Dedicated to Farming Value of Agricultural Exports = $3,937,500,000 ++ (Almost 10% of the GDP) Other Economic Considerations - People 10 th in Population in US (soon to be 8 th?) 10 th in the US in residential electricity consumption, per capita 5
Reason for Bioenergy #2: The Environment North Carolina has a lot of organic waste producers! People Livestock & Poultry Farming Organic waste naturally becomes greenhouse gases Organic waste contains nutrients Conservation of Mass: Land, Nutrients, Energy The Food-Energy-Water Nexus 6
The North Carolina Organic Waste Bioenergy Potential 1. People 2. Agriculture 7
WTE Potential: People 8
People Create an Infinite Source of Organic Feedstock! You Are Here! (~7.3 Billion) HUMAN POPULATION 9
Potential Methane from WWTPs 10
Example WWTP Bioenergy Potential Facility Size Count MMBtu/day (at capacity)* DGE/day Number of Munie WWTPs 940 Number of Munie WWTPs <1 MGD 127 115 891 Number of Munie WWTPs 1-5 MGD 79 468 3,616 Number of Munie WWTPs 5-10 MGD 36 583 4,501 Number of Munie WWTPs >10 MGD 42 2,196 16,958 * Using EPA Factor Source: NCDENR DEACS Approx. 300 MWh per day! Approx. 135,664 Truck-miles per day! 11
Comparative Data (North Carolina Case Study WWTP) WWTP Q (MGD) Biogas Yield (MMBtu/d) Approximate Annual Value ($/yr) Electricity 1 Diesel Fuel 2 Natural Gas 3 1 2.4 $ 5,256 $ 19,617 $ 3,504 2 4.8 $ 10,512 $ 39,234 $ 7,008 5 12 $ 26,280 $ 98,085 $ 17,520 10 24 $ 52,560 $ 196,170 $ 35,040 20 48 $ 105,120 $ 392,340 $ 70,080 50 120 $ 262,800 $ 980,849 $ 175,200 75 180 $ 394,200 $ 1,471,274 $ 262,800 1 Using Heat Rate of ~10,000 Btu/kWh for On-site Generation @$0.06/kWh 2 Using Heat Value of Diesel Fuel = 128,000 Btu/gallon @ $2.90/gallon 3 Using 1,000 Btu/CF @ $4.00 per MCF 12
Potential Methane from Landfills 13
NC People Facilities Map Minor Municipal WWTP s Major Municipal WWTP s MSW Landfills 14
WTE Potential: Agriculture 15
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Potential Methane from Livestock Manure 18
NC Agricultural Facilities Map Dairy Farms Wet Poultry Systems Swine Farms 19
Summary The North Carolina Bioenergy Potential 20
NC All Bioenergy Facilities Map (with NG Pipelines) Minor Munie WWTP s Dairy Farms Major Munie WWTP s Wet Poultry Systems MSW Landfills Swine Farms 21
Methane Capture Potential Combined Sources Municipal WWTPs, Landfills, Agriculture
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The BURNING QUESTION??? Why Not? Why should we promote the development of Bioenergy resources? We have infinite supply of renewable sources of organic materials that may be used to generate bioenergy In-state production of biogas and bioenergy can hedge against increasing energy costs Thought leadership change from waste to resource for North Carolina Bioenergy is a domestic source of clean energy, Reduced reliance on foreign sources of fuel / increased energy independence Extended landfill life State Regulatory and Federal policy drivers 24
Source: www.nrel.gov/docs/fy14osti/60178.pdf 25
What can our state Leaders do? Realize the wealth of organic waste resources and foster development of these resources through policy initiatives. Take steps to identify the policy barriers, risk mitigation strategies, and other market inhibitors that have slowed the pace of bioenergy development. Develop a robust plan for NC that integrates the EPA, DOE, and USDA Plan, and focuses on all NC Bioenergy resources. 26
Final Thought It took several hundred thousand years for the Earth to make crude oil, but we can convert organic waste into natural gas (biogas) in less than 2 days 27