...A North Carolina program to turn pig waste into power has failed to produce results, meaning a state mandate to generate potentially thousands of megawatts of electricity from swine waste might not be met by a deadline two years from now.
As part of state energy law, electric power companies are required to generate nearly 0.1 percent of North Carolina's total retail electricity sales from swine waste by 2012.
But in the three years since a voluntary pilot program started, no registered swine farms have produced electricity.
In 2007, a state law banned construction of new lagoons and created a program in which power companies would pay for electricity generated by methane emitted from the waste.
...One problem with the pilot program is that participating farms have to be served by public utilities to be eligible, said Keith Larick, a supervisor in the water quality division. According to a January report, of the 218 farms that showed interest, 170 of them were ineligible because they were served by electric membership corporations or municipal utilities.
Another large issue with the program is money ...
The North Carolina pork industry, the second largest in the country, has gone through tough economic times. Several pig producers filed for bankruptcy last year, putting workers out of jobs.
Right now, farmers don't have the money for extra equipment without the assistance of grants and other funding...