Raleigh buses will soon be powered by human waste

City buses will soon be powered by gas made from human waste.

It's one of the perks of an upgrade to Raleigh’s wastewater treatment system that will help the city save money and cut greenhouse gas emissions.

Currently, Raleigh’s main wastewater treatment plant processes about 50 million gallons of water each day and uses an energy-intensive aerobic system to break down waste into to dried biosolids that can be spread on farms and fields.

"We're using a third party contractor to take these dried solids and apply them to farms all through North Carolina, but that volume has increased so much with Raleigh's growth that we needed to find a better way to manage that because of the cost," said Ed Buchan with Raleigh Water.

Now, the utility is in the process of converting to an anerobic system featuring a thermal hydrolysis process that acts like a giant pressure cooker.

"They’re going to cook the volume of waste down by 50%, so our biosolids reduction is going to be dramatic, and it's going to save a lot of money and greenhouse gases from transporting it around," said Buchan.

The process will also create a renewable natural gas that will be captured and put into the pipeline to fuel an estimated 50 to 70 GoRaleigh buses each day.

"By having this alternative we’ll be able to set fuel and rates for years at a time. That really brings budget stability," said David Eatman, assistant transporation director with the City of Raleigh.

The new facility is currently under construction and expected to be operational by summer 2024.