Growing Our Energy Agricultural Waste-to-Energy Renewable Energy Generation and GHG Emission Reductions via Innovative Waste Management Presented To: ACEC Environmental Committee February 10, 2014 Presented By: William G. Gus Simmons, Jr., P.E. Cavanaugh & Associates, P.A. 1
Why Are We Looking at Alternative Energy / Fuels??? With less than 5% of the world s population, the United States consumes 25% of the world s oil supply. The U.S. has just 1.6% of the world s oil reserves. We currently export 1.1 billion gallons of U.S.- produced ethanol annually (Europe, UAE, etc.) There are problems 2
A Quick Look at the Data 3
Where Does our Electricity Come From? (US)
The Great Imbalance of Power
A Global Supply Problem Alberta Tar Sand Pit - This area used to be forested, full of trees and wildlife - 54,000 square miles in size A little bigger than entire NC! - 4 Gallons of Water used for every 1 gallon of Oil Produced!!!
Why is NC Looking at Alternative Energy / Fuels from Ag Waste??? NC Ranks 2 nd in the US in pigs produced, with 15% of the US pig crop (IA) NC Ranks 2 nd in the US in turkeys produced, with 13% of the US turkey crop (MN) NC Ranks 4 th in the US in broilers produced, with 9% of the US broiler crop (GA) NC Ranks 10 th in the US in residential electricity consumption, per capita 7
Agricultural WTE Reqmnts in NC With the passage of Senate Bill 3 (2007), North Carolina became the first state in the Southeast to adopt a Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Portfolio Standard (REPS). SB3 requires: investor-owned utilities in North Carolina to provide up to 12.5% of their energy through renewable energy resources or energy efficiency measures. Rural electric cooperatives and municipal electric suppliers are subject to a 10% REPS requirement. Agree or Disagree a linkage was made between the potential for the development of renewable energy (biogas / biomass) and all the pig farms in North Carolina 8
North Carolina Potential Asheville Triad Raleigh/RTP Charlotte Wilmington Data provided by Duke University Carbon Offsets Initiative 9
Renewable Statutes Nationwide 29 states (+ DC) have a Renewable Portfolio Standard; 7 have goals WA: 15% x 2020* OR: 25% x 2025 CA: 33% x 2020 NV: 25% x 2025* UT: 20% by 2025* AZ: 15% x 2025 MT: 15% x 2015 CO: 30% by 2020 NM: 20% x 2020 ND: 10% x 2015 SD: 10% x 2015 KS: 20% x 2020 TX: 5,880 MW x 2015 MN: 25% x 2025 OK: 15% x 2015 MI: 10% + 1,100 MW x 2015* WI: Varies by utility; 10% x 2015 statewide NY: 29% x 2015 IA: 105 MW MO: 15% x 2021 OH: 25% x 2025 VT: (1) RE meets any increase in retail sales x 2012; (2) 20% RE & CHP x 2017 IL: 25% x 2025 WV: 25% x 2025* VA: 15% x 2025* NC: 12.5% x 2021 DC ME: 30% x 2000 New RE: 10% x 2017 NH: 23.8% x 2025 MA: 22.1% x 2020 New RE: 15% x 2020 (+1% annually thereafter) RI: 16% x 2020 CT: 23% x 2020 PA: ~18% x 2021 NJ: 22.5% x 2021 MD: 20% x 2022 DE: 20% x 2020* DC: 20% x 2020 HI: 40% x 2030 State renewable portfolio standard State renewable portfolio goal Solar water heating eligible * Minimum solar or customer-sited requirement Extra credit for solar renewables Includes non-renewable alternative resources 10
NC IOU* Renewable Obligation** * Investor Owned Utility ** Under Senate Bill 3 Out of State REC Cap = 25% of Requirement Year Total REPS Solar Swine Waste Poultry Waste 2010 0.02% 2012 3% 0.07% 0.07% 170k MWh 2013 700k MWh 2014 900k MWh 2015 6% 0.14% 0.14% 2018 10% 0.20% 0.20% 2021 12.5% To meet obligations of SB3, Duke Energy would need ~123,000 MWh of Swine Waste Fueled Electricity Needed by 2018 11
The North Carolina Potential - What Can We Expect from Swine Waste to Energy Systems? About 1.1 M MWh electricity annually About 6.3 M tons GHGs reduced annually Potential for major nutrient management strides and pathogen reductions Improved animal health, reduced mortalities, greater farm productivity Creation of new acres of cash cropland Data provided by Duke University Carbon Offsets Initiative 12
How to turn pig waste into electrons? 13
Step 1: Model Development Project Goals: (2006) Make it Market Feasible farm owners perspective Energy Generation + Water Quality Improvement + Air Emissions Improvement Make it flexible - different farm sizes & types Process based, not technology based Innovative waste management : Achieve environmental performance standards as described by NC legislation Substantial elimination of odor, ammonia, total nitrogen, and pathogens 14
BioEnergy Digesters in United States
BioEnergy Digesters in North Carolina
Commercial-Scale Project : Case Study: Digester Systems for Animal Waste Solids Loyd Ray Farms Project GHG Emission Reductions and Renewable Energy Generation via Innovative Waste Management 17
Commercial-Scale Demonstration Project: Loyd Ray Farms Swine Waste-to-Energy Project Converts waste from 9,000 pigs into electricity Improved Environmental Management
How it Works: ~65% CH 4 19
Biogas Raw Waste Liquids How it Works Existing Storage Lagoon Mixed Digester
What it looks like After Construction What it looks like Steady State Photos by: Marc Deshusses, Duke University, 2011 21
Covered Anaerobic Digester 22
Aeration System 23
Gas Conditioning System & Microturbine Microturbine Specifications: 65 kilowatt Generative Capacity First Scheduled Service @ 8,000 Hrs Only one moving part @ >90,000 RPM Air bearings no lubricant or coolant required 24
Expected Outcomes: 5,000± Carbon Offsets per Year, registered with Climate Action Reserve Duke University & Google: Retire to meet carbon neutrality goal, retire for immediate internal demand, and/or sell when strong market signal arises 500± Renewable Energy Credits per Year Utility: Motivated by NC Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Portfolio Standard Swine Waste Set Aside Electricity Generation Farm: Energy to offset increased demand from innovative system and offset baseline electricity demand (projected to offset up to half of farm s existing electricity demand) Compliance with Environmental Performance Standards for New & Expanded Swine Farms (ammonia, nutrients, pathogens, odors, metals and zero discharge of waste to surface and groundwater); Ensures compliance with offset standard to meet all air and water quality standards by controlling nutrient loads 25
Equivalent GHG Emissions: Annual greenhouse gas emissions from 889 passenger vehicles CO 2 emissions from 508,512 gallons of gasoline consumed CO 2 emissions from 10,549 barrels of oil consumed CO 2 emissions from 60 tanker trucks worth of gasoline CO 2 emissions from the electricity use of 566 homes for one year CO 2 emissions from the energy use of 393 homes for one year Carbon sequestered by 116,306 tree seedlings grown for 10 years Carbon sequestered annually by 967 acres of pine or fir forests Carbon sequestered annually by 45 acres of forest preserved from deforestation CO 2 emissions from 188,997 propane cylinders used for home barbeques CO 2 emissions from burning 25 railcars worth of coal Greenhouse gas emissions avoided by recycling 1,580 tons of waste instead of sending it to the landfill Source: EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies Calculator 26
RESULTS 27
6/1/2011 6/8/2011 6/15/2011 6/22/2011 6/29/2011 7/6/2011 7/13/2011 7/20/2011 7/27/2011 8/3/2011 8/10/2011 8/17/2011 8/24/2011 8/31/2011 9/7/2011 9/14/2011 9/21/2011 9/28/2011 10/5/2011 10/12/2011 10/19/2011 10/26/2011 11/2/2011 11/9/2011 11/16/2011 11/23/2011 11/30/2011 12/7/2011 12/14/2011 12/21/2011 12/28/2011 Power (kw) 70 Electricity Production Rate - 2011 60 50 40 30 20 Condensate pump issues 10 0 Condensate flooded compressor, required rebuild Controls system issues, supplier tweaks 28
12/31/2011 1/7/2012 1/14/2012 1/21/2012 1/28/2012 2/4/2012 2/11/2012 2/18/2012 2/25/2012 3/3/2012 3/10/2012 3/17/2012 3/24/2012 3/31/2012 4/7/2012 4/14/2012 4/21/2012 4/28/2012 5/5/2012 5/12/2012 5/19/2012 5/26/2012 6/2/2012 6/9/2012 6/16/2012 6/23/2012 6/30/2012 7/7/2012 7/14/2012 7/21/2012 7/28/2012 8/4/2012 8/11/2012 8/18/2012 8/25/2012 Power (kw) 70 Electricity Production Rate - 2012 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Compressor cooler failure, controls Manual Operation Only Gas Skid Replacement 29
Scorecard Parameter Goal Actual Success Gauge RECs 500 344 69% Carbon Offsets 5,000 Tons 2,500 Tons 50% Environmental Performance - Surface Water Protection Environmental Performance - Ground Water Protection Environmental Performance - Odor Emissions Environmental Performance - Ammonia Emissions Environmental Performance - Vector Reduction Substantial Elimination Substantial Elimination WWTP = Farm = Accomplished by Permit Accomplished by Permit Passed Passed >7:1 D/T 2:1 D/T Passed 106 kg/wk 476 kg/wk 23 kg/wk 341 kg/wk <7,000 mpn/100ml <5,000 mpn/100ml 460% (Passed) 140% (Passed) 140% (Passed) 30
Costs and Benefits Costs Capital: $1.7M O&M: $80,000/year Funding sources NCACSP LCP CCPI/EQIP Farm Bill Section 9006 REEP NRCS CIG & FPPC USDA SBIR USDA SARE NSF US Dept. of Energy NC State Energy Office Sale of RECs and Carbon Offsets Benefits Cash flow for farm owner Improved animal health Other ecosystem services (N, P control) Variability in nitrogen output for fertilizer Reduced sludge management cost Improved air quality on-site Reduction of odors off site More choice in cropping plan Sustaining NC Agriculture Reduced GHG Emissions 31
A couple of firsts First Swine Waste-to-energy project in the State of North Carolina to place RECs on the North Carolina Utilities Commission REC Tracking System First Transfer of RECs from a NC Swine Farm to Duke Energy First Innovative Swine Waste Treatment System permitted that utilizes digester First Swine Farm Expansion Permit Since 1997??? 32
Deployment? Broad-scale deployment has been inhibited by: Costs: still requires artificial economics to make financial feasibility threshold Management: Requires ~240 farms to meet the goal, which means 240+ generators, etc. Risks: Many risks for many folks Policy, environmental, biosecurity, technology, etc. Access to Capital: $Millions and more required 33
Overcoming Obstacles 34
Overcoming Obstacles Research Team evaluated: On-farm Electricity Generation (like LRF) On-farm Digesters, Individual Directed Biogas On-farm Digesters, Centralized Biogas-to-Electricity On-farm Digesters, Centralized Directed Biogas Report prepared and released by Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy at Duke University, April 2013 35
Next Steps Continue to Overcome Obstacles Further Economic Analysis Refine / Validate Deployment Costs Refine / Validate Revenue Streams Monetize Non-Revenue Benefits for All Parties Expand Technology Reach New technologies / equipment every day in the expanding biogas/biomass markets Continue Research at LRF 36
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