The pipe connects a low-pressure natural gas transmission with the city of Milan’s natural gas pipeline allowing renewable natural gas produced at the farm to be directly injected into the line.
The ‘manure-to-energy’ project is part of Smithfield’s Renewables division that aims to unify and accelerate its carbon reduction and renewable energy efforts, and key to achieving its goal to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions 25% by 2025.
“As we work to expand our ‘manure-to-energy’ projects nationwide, it is inspiring to witness the fruition of our renewable energy efforts in Missouri,” said Kraig Westerbeek, senior director of Smithfield Renewables and hog production environmental affairs. “We are proud that these efforts allow the locations we call home to contribute to a sustainable energy future while curbing our carbon footprint.”
“We are proud that Smithfield calls Milan home and grateful for the company’s positive impact on our community, providing residents with more than 1,100 jobs,” said Mayor Andy Herington of the city of Milan. “Smithfield’s leadership in producing renewable energy in innovative ways further strengthens our community and provides us with more flexibility to meet the energy needs of our residents and businesses.”
The project is part of Smithfield Renewables’ nationwide expansion in which it will implement ‘manure-to-energy’ projects across 90% of its hog finishing spaces in North Carolina, Utah, Virginia, and the majority of its hog finishing spaces in Missouri over the next 10 years.
Earlier this year, Smithfield installed infrastructure to capture methane emissions from its Northern Missouri hog farms and convert them into pipeline-quality natural gas through its Monarch Bioenergy joint venture with Roeslein Alternative Energy. This project has the ability to produce 1.3 million dekatherms of renewable natural gas annually which is the equivalent of eliminating 130,000 gasoline vehicles.