NCPC members Tom and Robert Butler are featured in the current Carolina Countryside, a monthly magazine reaching more than 650,000 families, farms and businesses in North Carolina and published by the NC Association of Electric Co-Operatives.

The article, "Hog Farmers Go Green," highlights the Butler's efforts to capture methane from the farm's lagoon and convert it to electricity. According to the article, once the project is completed and the generator is in place, the "South River Electric Membership Corporation will work with the Butlers to purchase the energy it produces."

In 2007, the NC General Assembly passed a law that established the North Carolina's Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard. This law has a requirement that 0.07 percent of statewide retail electric sales in 2012 and 0.14 percent of retail electric sales in 2015 must come from swine waste-to-energy facilities.

In February of this year, NC electric providers issued a joint request for proposals (RFP) for electricity generated from swine waste facilities in the state to assist providers in their efforts to increase the amount of electricity they purchase from renewable energy resources in compliance with state energy law. Contract negotiations and award announcements for those projects are scheduled to be completed by Oct. 1, 2010.

To read the article, click here to visit the online version of Carolina Countryside.