Raleigh-based utility Progress Energy said it would participate in the program if legislators approve it. Murphy-Brown LLC, the Warsaw-based livestock production subsidiary of Smithfield Foods Inc., and others developed the technology to capture methane gas from the farms' anaerobic treatment systems and convert it into electricity, the council said.

"This pilot program will help us see if it will be possible for producers to sell energy at a rate that allows them to justify the capital investment and cover the operating expenses for these projects," said R.C. Hunt, president of the North Carolina Pork Council and a contract hog producer.

Under the program, Progress Energy would purchase the electricity generated at about 18 cents per kilowatt hour - significantly more than the 4.5 cents to the 5.5 cents usually paid by other non-utility generators, said Dana Yeganian, a Progress Energy spokeswoman.

Source: hendersonvillenews.com