- Company to buy captured methane gas from swine farms in Duplin County, North Carolina - Gas to be used at two Duke Energy power plants to generate carbon-neutral renewable energy

CHARLOTTE, N.C., May 24, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Duke Energy announced today it has finalized a second deal in 2016 to buy captured methane gas derived from swine waste. The planned project will be at farms in Kenansville, N.C.

The project will use captured methane gas to generate carbon-neutral renewable electricity at two power stations. Optima KV will construct a digester at each farm and pipe the captured methane gas to a centralized facility where it will be cleaned to pipeline quality specifications and injected into the natural gas pipeline system.

The Duplin County location for the proposed facility is in the heart of Smithfield Foods' pork operations. The project should be operational by the summer of 2017. The power will be carbon neutral compared to the emissions that would result if the waste was left to decay at current methods.

"We see continued advancement in this technology in North Carolina," said David Fountain, Duke Energy's North Carolina president. "This project has environmental benefits and is cost-effective for our customers."

Under North Carolina's Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard (REPS), Duke Energy companies must meet specific compliance targets for swine and poultry waste. In March, the company announced a project with Carbon Cycle Energy to use swine waste-derived gas at four power plants in North Carolina.

Expanding the utility's renewable energy output, the captured methane will be treated, injected into the pipeline system and used at two Duke Energy plants:

H.F. Lee Station Combined Cycle Plant in Wayne County
Sutton Combined Cycle Plant in New Hanover County
"Optima is excited about this partnership with Duke Energy and North Carolina swine farmers," said Gus Simmons, partner in Optima KV and concept designer. "Our on-farm digesters will integrate with and support the farmers' existing operations. By centralizing the gas processing, we can take advantage of cost efficiencies and provide carbon-neutral fuel for Duke's existing power plants. It's a great benefit for the environment and for the economy."

Under a 15-year term, Optima KV is expected to produce about 80,000 MMBtus of pipeline-quality captured methane a year. Duke Energy should yield about 11,000 megawatt-hours of renewable energy annually - enough to power about 880 homes for a year. The renewable energy credits (RECs) generated annually by the effort will help satisfy state mandates.

Since Duke Energy has already filed to have the Lee and Sutton plants designated as new renewable energy facilities, amendments to those filings were made with the NCUC to include fuel from the new project.

About Duke Energy

Headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., Duke Energy is a S&P 100 Stock Index company traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol DUK. More information about the company is available at duke-energy.com.

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About Optima KV

Optima KV, LLC, a North Carolina limited liability company located in Wilmington, North Carolina, is a partnership that brings together experts in bioenergy, agriculture, project finance, and environmental stewardship. Although this is Optima KV's first swine waste-to-energy project in North Carolina, its principal partners actively operate successful waste-to-energy projects in the U.S.

About Smithfield Foods

Smithfield Foods is a $14 billion global food company and the world's largest pork processor and hog producer. In the United States, the company is also the leader in numerous packaged meats categories with popular brands including Smithfield®, Eckrich®, Nathan's Famous®, Farmland®, Armour®, Cook's®, John Morrell®, Gwaltney®, Kretschmar®, Margherita®, Curly's®, Carando® and Healthy Ones®. Smithfield Foods is committed to providing good food in a responsible way and maintains robust animal care, community involvement, employee safety, environmental and food safety and quality programs. For more information, visit www.smithfieldfoods.com.