- V y_i. D j P The ERQUIMANS •.r's M'i » 9 a SMSS [MKl] \5tepPo? ''News front Next Door" r. n OCTOBER 5, 2011 - OCTOBER 11, 2011 50 cents aaAiaoaH No power agreement yet for planned wind farm By CATHY WILSON Staff Writer With just three months left before construction needs to begin, the com pany proposing to build a commercial wind farm in Perquimans and Pasquo tank counties still has not snagged a power purchase agreement (PPA) for the sale of electricity gener ated by wind-blown tur bines. Craig Poff, senior busi ness developer with Iber drola Renewables and the company’s front-line nego tiator on the Desert Wind Energy Project, said the company is still actively working to secure a PPA. Once a PPA is obtained, the proposed 300-megawatt wind project must then go before the company’s investment committee for approval before the project can be termed “a go”. In order to qualify for at tractive federal tax incen tives earmarked for renew able energy projects, the local wind farm must be up and running by the end of next year. “Yes, the clock is ticking and the deadline of Decem ber 31,2012 is not moving,” admitted Poff Poff indicated Atlantic Wind, LLC, a subsidiary of IR, is “tidying up the engi neering and permitting” Habitat begins house on Dobbs By CATHY WILSON Staff Writer jk prU Thompson was super excited as she carried a load of building materials from the tractor- trailer to the storage area. She made her way to the back of the lot, walking by the large concrete slab that wUl be the foundation for her new home. “I’m super ex cited,” said the young Perquimans County native whose family was selected by the Chowan-Perquimans Habitat for Human ity to build their new home on Dobbs Street in Hertford. More than 40 volunteers from area churches, the CPHH organiza tion, and athletes from Perquunans County High School, helped unload the supplies Friday morning. The entire pre cut four bedroom, three bath home was assembled by New Hope Construction in another state, then disassembled, loaded onto a tractor trailer and shipped to Hertford. Each piece is labeled and ready to be built by volun teers. “This is pretty awesome,” added Thompson, whose husband Bob is assis tant kitchen manager and assistant chef at River House Res taurant in Edenton. They have four yovmg 'W J STAFF PHOTOS BY CATHY WILSON Among the volunteers helping to unload supplies are Coach Justin Roberson (right) and his athletes from Perquimans County High School. children between the age of nine years and eight months, and they now live in Snug Harbor. “It is so wonder ful to see all these people come together to work for a good cause,” she said. “It’s really nice.” This house will be built on a slab foundation rather than a crawl space hopefully making the house more energy efficient. The house will also feature a pre-finished metal room. The lot was do nated to CPHH by the town of Hertford. Organizers stress that Habitat for Humanity homes are not a handout; they are a “hand up”. The recipients get the homes at a discount ed price because of the volunteer labor of HFH members. However, all recipi ents, of HFH homes must have a steady income sufficient to make the payments, pay the taxes, and maintain the home. The recipients must also invest at least hundreds of hours of “sweat More than 40 volun teers turned out Friday to unload supplies and begin building the Chowan-Perquimans Habitat for Humanity house on Dobbs Street. equity” into the construction of their home or other HFH activities. All recipi ents are counseled on budgeting and home maintenance as well. Payments made by the recipients of HFH homes go back to the local chapter to support the future construction of homes for additional families in the area. process now. “Just to be clear, this project has never been ‘a go’. We’ve always indicat ed that once permits and a power purchase agree ment are in place that the See WIND FARM, 8 Firm picked for EMS building By CATHY WILSON Staff Writer ‘ Colvot Construction will renovate the former Al bemarle Electric building into the new home for the county’s emergency ser vices. Colvot won the construc tion bid from county com missioners after providing the lowest of four bids to renovate the existing build ing and to build a new 45 x 60 storage addition. Both projects combined are expected to cost just under $200,000 with the project expected to be com pleted in about 180 days. Commissioners also agreed to borrow up to $1.4 miliion from East Carolina Bank to pay for the pur chase of the building, its renovation and equipment for the new home for coun ty agencies. The loan is ex pected to clpse by Oct. 5. The actual purchase price is $840,000 for the large office building, ad ditional storage buildings, and four acres of land. Commissioners plan to renovate the build ing to house the county’s emergency services and emergency management agencies, and 911 commu nications center. County Manager Bobby Darden said some renova tions would be needed to transform the large garage area into ba: . for EMS am bulances. Darden pointed out that See BUILDING, 8 H.I. waste plant hearing Dec. 15 By CATHY WILSON . Staff Writer The North Carolina Util ities Commission will hold a public hearing in Decem ber regarding an applica tion to close the waste- water treatment plant at Holiday Island. Gail L. Mount, deputy clerk for the commission, signed the paperwork Monday scheduling the public hearing Dec. 15 in the Perquimans County Courtroom at 9 a.m. The Holiday Island Property Owners Associa tion, Inc. (HIPOA) asked permission from the com mission back in August to discontinue providing water and wastewater util ity service to the camping sections of Holiday Island. 89076 47144 HIPOA’s application to the commission states there is no reasonable probability the property owners asso ciation will raise enough money from utility cus tomers to make needed repairs and improvements required by the state. Last month, HIPOA also agreed to negotiate with Holiday Island utility cus tomers regarding the pos sible transfer of the plant to a new entity to be creat ed by the customers in or der to keep the wastewater and water available to the camping areas. HIPOA has agreed to withdraw its ap plication to close the plant if that transfer occurs pri or to action by the NCUC. Barbara Bostwick, HIPOA first vice president who actually signed the application to close the plant, wrote in an email that HIPOA has nothing in writing regarding any pos sible transfer of the plant See HEARING, 8 Hertford Fire On Fire At Convention [■r- * -- I.; PHOTOS COURTESY ED LEICESTER The Hertford Fire Department won four of six events and earned the “Best Department” award during the Albemale Firemans Association’s Annual Firefighter’s Day held Saturday in Plymouth. Team members include: (l-r, kneeling) Rob Hollmier, Eli Lahr, Jonathan Nixon and Brian Chappell; (l-r, standing) Billy Layden, Jared Stanton, Jonathan Stevenson, Matt Woodell, Parker Newbern and Greg Benton.

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