Newspapers / The Daily Advance (Elizabeth … / March 6, 2011, edition 1 / Page 14
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2011 PROGRESS & REVIEW, SUNDAY, MARCH 6,2011 Officials: Ag, aviation have room to grow By BOB MONTGOMERY Assistant News Editor Aviation-related jobs may have outpaced the growth in farm employ ment in recent years, but both have solid futures, lo cal officials say. “Actually, we can see an , interesting convergence of the two industries in the : proposed wind farm in the desert,” said Wayne Harris, director of the Al- bemarle Economic Develop ment Com mission. A g r i - Harris (Culture , has long been the region’s ,. main economic driver, but ^ its pace of growth has been surpassed in recent years c by the aviation industry. A 2006 study commis- , sioned by the N.C. Depart ment of Transportation showed that conserva- ^.tively, the total economic impact of the Elizabeth - City-Pasquotank Region al Airport exceeded $17 million. . “Keep in mind the study was completed before the . DRS (Technologies) and j Telephonies facilities were i opened,” airport Manager CATHY WILSON/THE PERQUIMANS WEEKLY Local pilot Craig Craft sprays an area field in his crop-dusting plane. Area officials say there is plenty of room in the local economy for both aviation and agriculture to grow. Scott Hinton said, refer ring to the two companies that have opened facilities near the airport and have plans to expand at the ad jacent aviation commerce park under construction. “I would argue that the (economic) impact is al ready greaj,” Hinton said. “I certainly expect that it will grow as our country moves forward during the economic recovery.” Harris said the avia tion-related industry’s total impact on the region has grown in the past half- dozen years to about $87 million. That includes 240 jobs at DRS Technologies, where the average salary for workers is $53,000 and the annual payroll is $12.7 mil lion. It also includes the Weeksville-based TCOM airship manufacturer, which employs 190 workers (150 of whom were hired in the past three years) and has a total economic im pact of about $69 million. That doesn’t count the $24 million contract ex tension DRS recently was awarded by the Coast Guard to continue mainte nance support, engineer ing and program manage ment on a fleet of HC-130, HC-144 and HU-25 aircraft. The extension actually is the second of a three-year $67 million contract ini tially awarded in 2009 that continues through 2012. The continued growth of the area’s aviation indus try shouldn’t have much effect on agricul tural jobs, Harris said. “Avia tion pro duces a very high economic impact on a relatively small foot print, so there is no dan ger its growth will have more than an extremely minimal impact on agri culture,” he said. “And actually, we can see an in teresting convergence of the two industries in the proposed wind farm in the desert (area of western Pasquotank County).” Recently, the world’s largest wind-energy com pany filed an application with North Carolina regu lators to build what would be the state’s first utility- scale wind turbine project on a stretch of farmland referred to as the “Desert” in Pasquotank and Perqui mans counties. If approved, Iberdrola Renewables’ wind tur bines would generate enough electricity to pow er up to 70,000 North Caro lina homes, as well as light up every house in Pasquo tank County and several neighboring counties. The proposal calls for up to 150 utility-scale wind turbines, creating up to 400 construction jobs at the start and 20 perma nent jobs. The counties could re ceive tax revenues and lo cal landowners would re ceive lease payments. “The farmers in that area will continue to farm almost unobstructed while collecting an estimated $1 million in lease payments from the wind turbine op erator,” Harris said. One of the key benefits of the new industry is that it won’t require local avia tion workers to acquire a new and completely differ ent set of skills. “Many of the compo nents in a wind turbine, from composite blades to the turbines themselves, require exactly the same skills as what are required in the aviation industry to maniofacture and main tain,” Harris said. Hinton said he believes there’s plenty of room for both aviation and farming to grow and contribute to the local economy. “The two industries are not mutually exclu sive,” Hinton said. “We should continue to build our economy around our strengths. Aviation and farming certainly meet that criteria.” CHARLES H. WARD, INC. DIXlEl AUTO PART J Wind energy, farming compatibie \Hardware\ WARD SHOPPING CENTER, HERTFORD 426-5716 As your hometown bank for over 87 years, we’ve established, firm roots in this community and its interests. We invite you to stop, by our office, and see for yourself what sets us apart from larger banks. We offer a range of quality financial products and services, but we do banking with a personal touch that shows we care about you and your business. • Mortgage Loans • Home Equity Lines of Credit • Checking • Savings ' Certificate of Deposits By REGGIE PONDER Staff Writer The prospect of wind turbines coming to Pas quotank and Perquimans counties offers an opportu nity for a new convergence of the Albemarle’s agricul tural heritage and its more recent ventures in aviation technology Of course, agriculture and aviation have been intertwined for decades through crop-dusting. The aerial application of agri cultural chemicals remains a familiar sight in the area. In recent years, aviation technology has becoming a growth industry in the area, with companies like DRS Technologies and Tele phonies investing mfilions of dollars in facilities at the Elizabeth City Regional Airport and Elizabeth City and Pasquotank County Legner Farms in Livingston County, energy-producing wind turbines. joining forces to develop an Aviation Commerce Park across Consolidated Road from the airport. DRS overhauls Coast Guard aircraft and Tele phonies works on aviation radar systems for the Coast PHOTO COURTESY LEGNER FARMS Illinois produces soybeans and corn on acreage that also contains We’re on the job until the last light comes back on. Albemarle Electric Membership Corj^mtion A TowdtMBeor Eitc«gy* CcapenMWig 159 Creek Drive, Hertford, NC, 27944 (252) 426-5735 Guard and other clients. But as agriculture re mains an important part of the region’s economy, the farming heritage and avia tion-related innovations may find a common home in the wind energy indus try Asked recently about the possibility of future con nections between aviation and agriculture, Elizabeth City Regional Airport Man ager Scott Hinton replied that “the one emerging technology that is related is wind turbine farms.” Iberdrola Renewables, an international company with North American head quarters in Portland, Ore., and a wind farm operation in Pennsylvania, has looked at property in the “desert” section of Pasquotank and Perquimans counties as a prospective site for 50 or more wind turbines — pos sibly up to 150. The company’s goal is to have the turbines in place that can put power in the electric grid by the end of 2012. An Iberdrola official told Pasquotank County com missioners last year that usually the company will lease 80-100 acres per wind turbine. Once construction is complete, farming can take place up to about 60 feet from the wind turbine, according to the Iberdrola official. Hinton explained that while wind turbines are not part of aviation in the strictest sense, the turbines are essentially an adapta tion of aerospace technol ogy He pointed out that with some cross-training, a tech nician accustomed to over hauling aircraft could work on wind turbines. 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The Daily Advance (Elizabeth City, N.C.)
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March 6, 2011, edition 1
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