News Releases

Green Power EMC Hatches New Energy Source

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 26, 2006

Contact Greg Brooks, 770/266-2307, or Katie Woodall, 770/266-2572

Green Power EMC may have found a unique solution to two challenges facing Northeast Georgians–getting more environmentally friendly energy and disposing of poultry wastes.

Traditionally, poultry litter is spread on fields because it is rich in nutrients and acts as a fertilizer. The problem comes when urban and suburban sprawl takes away land that was once available to accept chicken litter.

The plant, operated by Earth Resources, Inc., is the first in the state to use a gasification system for this process.

The litter is superheated and separates into gas compounds, including methane. These gasses are burned to produce heat that creates steam to power a turbine.

After it’s used for power production, the litter turns into an odorless ash that’s granulated and added to the soil to provide nutrients. Another benefit is that the chicken litter power plant has lower emissions than typical power plants.

“Georgia must be proactive in developing alternative energy sources, and that is exactly what we’re seeing with Green Power EMC’s poultry litter-to-energy operation,” said Governor Sonny Perdue. “If this project is successful, it has the potential to be replicated throughout the state, and could be a significant agricultural solution for Georgia’s growing energy needs.”

The plant should be fully functional by 2007.  Its output will be 20 megawatts, enough to annually meet the needs of 15,000 homes.

Walton EMC is a consumer-owned electric company with 110,000 accounts in ten Northeast Georgia counties between Atlanta and Athens.

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