2 THE PERQUIMANS WEEKLY, WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 10,2016
Amazon Wind Farm project to produce power in Dec.
BY JON HAWLEY
The Daily Advance
Avangrid Renewables’
massive wind energy proj
ect continues to take shape
on the Pasquotank-Perqui
mans border, and should
begin producing electric
ity in December, a company
spokesman told local busi
ness and civic leaders last
Wednesday.
Craig Poff updated mem
bers of the Elizabeth City
Area Committee of 100
about Avangrid’s Amazon
Wind Farm US East project
during the group’s monthly
luncheon at Montero’s Res
taurant. The Committee of
100 is a private nonprofit
that supports economic de
velopment in Pasquotank
County.
Poff said turbine compo
nents continue being deliv
ered to the project site from
around the world, flowing
from Mexico and the ports of
Wilmington and Morehead
City before being stored in
Edenton and then trucked
to Pasquotank County.
The nearly 500-foot-tall
wind towers have been go
ing up since last month,
filling in the landscape off
the U.S. 17 bypass north of
Elizabeth City. Poff said the
project may also bring in
two more massive cranes,
for a total of five, to keep
the project moving forward.
It’s slated to start producing
power in December, when
Poff said it will start feeding
power into Dominion Pow
er’s. existing 230-kilovolt
transmission line.
“After the first year when
we start generating, the
BANKRUPTCY
THOMAS J. TURNEY/THE DAILY ADVANCE
Two 500-foot wind turbines are shown at Avangrid
Renewables’ Amazon Wind Farm US East wind energy
project in Pasquotank and Perquimans counties,
Wednesday. Construction continues on the wind farm,
which is expected to begin producing electricity this
December, a company spokesman said Wednesday.
electrons making lights here cal workers were employed
at Montero’s and in many previously, but the project
homes and businesses
around here are going to be
coming from wind turbines,”
Poff said.
While the project’s cus
tomer is Amazon Web Ser
vices, Poff clarified the wind
turbines will add electricity
to the grid to offset its power
needs. Poff likened the elec
trical grid to a bank: when
one wants to make a with
drawal, they don’t expect to
receive the exact dollar bills
previously deposited.
In addition to updates
on the project’s construc
tion, Poff highlighted the
project’s current and future
economic impacts. Poff said
the $400 million project is
currently employing more
than 200 temporary work
ers, noting about a fourth of
them reside within 50 miles
of the project site. More lo-
has shifted from laying out
62 miles of roads to bringing
in more specialized workers
to install turbines, he ex
plained.
Poff also said the project
will pay local property own
ers about $625,000 a year in
lease payments. It also will
generate $520,000 a year
in local property taxes for
both Pasquotank and Per
quimans counties. Even
with economic incentives
the two counties granted
the wind farm project, it
will still become the largest
property taxpayer in both
counties, he said.
Poff also fielded numer
ous questions from the
audience. Most were from
Elizabetlt City officials, in
cluding Mayor Joe Peel, City
Councilors Ray Donnelly
and Tony Stimatz, and City
Manager Rich Olson.
Though wind power is
“the fastest growing” form
of energy in the U.S., Poff
said offshore wind power
is still very expensive. Its
electricity costs three to five
times more than that pro
duced by land-based wind
farms, he said, meaning it’s
“not competitive” yet.
The Amazon wind farm
spans more than 22,000
acres but its turbines and
infrastructure will only oc
cupy about 200 to 250 acres,
Poff said. That means it’s
possible to “co-locate” solar
panels on the wind farm, he
said, but declined to say if
Avangrid plans to do so.
Avangrid hopes to even
tually build another 46 tur
bines - bringing the project
up to the 150 turbines first
proposed - once it studies
the radar impacts of the first
104 turbines. Poff explained
that the Navy’s Northwest
Annex in Chesapeake, Vir
ginia, employs “relocatable
over-the-horizon radar,” and
the Navy was concerned
that the “lightning protection
conductors” in the turbines’
spinning blades would cre
ate noise that would affect
its signal. The first 104 tur
bines, once operational, will
provide the empirical data
to determine if and how to
expand the project, he said.
The turbines are also
built to withstand lightning
strikes and hurricane-force
winds, Poff said. A big cop
per cable grounds the tur
bines, he said, and the wind
blades alter their angle and
lock into a “safe mode”
when winds exceed 60 mph.
He added historical data
show it’s rare that a strong
hurricane hits Pasquotank
or Perquimans counties;
they weaken substantially
crossing over the Outer
Banks, he said.
Chowan urged collect
full value for project
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
A Chowan County citi
zen told the county com
missioners at their meet
ing last week that the
county should be careful
to collect taxes on the
full value of the proposed
Timbermill Wind Project.
“I submit to you, our
directly elected officials,
that if you accept even
$1 less than a tax based
on the actual value of the
project, you are cheating
all the rest of the Chowan
County taxpayers,” Bob
Kirby said during the
public comment period at
the Aug. 1 meeting of the
Chowan County Board of
Commissioners.
Kirby’s comments ad
dressed the taxes that
would be paid by tile Tim
bermill Wind Project. The
300-megawatt industrial
wind energy, facility has
been proposed by Char
lottesville, Va,-based Apex
Clean Energy Inc. for a
site in the Bear Swamp
and Center Hill areas of
Chowan and Perquimans
counties.
The county commis
sioners are scheduled to
hold a hearing on Apex’s
conditional use permit ap
plication for the project
on Aug. 22 and 23 at the
Northern Chowan Com
munity Center.
Based on a $6 million
per turbine cost that he
derived from a wind en
ergy industry website and
the proposal to construct
48 turbines in the county,
Kirby figured the invest
ment in Chowan County
for the Timbermill Wind
project at $288 million.
Based on the county’s
current property tax rate
and a value of $288 mil
lion, the county should
collect $2,289,600 a year
in taxes from the project,
according to Kirby.
Kirby suggested that
the county negotiate with
Apex a payment in lieu
of taxes of $2.29 million,
which would be adjusted
on an annual basis in ac
cordance with the Con
sumer Price Index.
“Collection of this
PILOT fee should com
mence immediately upon
approval of the CUP since
at that point, the land will
become encumbered,”
Kirby said.
Kirby also remarked to
the county commission
ers that under the coun
ty’s ordinance require
ments Apex would have
only one year after receiv
ing the CUP to begin con
struction of the project.
“So if Apex does not re
ceive all of the necessary
federal and state permits
by next August, and ob
tain the required building
permits, their application
to Chowan County would
become moot,” Kirby
said.
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WIND
Continued from 1
project is expected to
generate a total of about
$500,000 a year in local
property taxes and would
be roughly split between
Perquimans and Chowan
counties. Also property
owners who lease the land
on which the turbines
would be placed stand to
get close to $10,000 a year
in lease payments.
Brenda Lassiter was the
lone member of the plan-
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ning board to oppose one
of the four motions.
Her “no” vote dealt with
the legal finding “that the
location and character of
the use, if developed ac
cording to the plan as sub
mitted and approved, will
be in harmony with the area
in which it is to be located
and in general conformity
with the Perquimans Coun
ty land use plan.”
“I voted no because I
don’t believe this project is
in harmony with the area
nor in harmony with our
resident’s desires,” Lassiter
said last week. “By resi
dents I mean those that are
non-participants but (who)
could be hugely affected by
the project.
“I am not against wind
energy. I value the fact that
ft holds immense poten
tial in supplying electric
ity across the world and I
See PROJECT, 3
PUBLIC NOTICE
The Perquimans County Board of County
Commissioners will hold a Public Hearing
using quasi-judicial procedures on
Wednesday, August 24, 2016, at 5:30 PM
and on Thursday, August 25, 2016, at 5:30 p.m. in the
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Courtroom on the 2nd floor of the Perquimans County
Courthouse Annex Building located at 110 North Church
Street, Hertford, NC (next door to the Historic County
Courthouse), to consider Conditional Use Permit No.
CUP-16-01, by Timbermill Wind, LLC, c/o Apex Clean
Energy Holdings, LLC, for a Large Wind Energy Facility
in the Bear Swamp and Centerhill Communities [to
include Tax Parcel Nos. 3-0039-00011B; 3-0047-00001,
-00002, -00014 and -00028; 3-0048-00001 and -00003;
3-0049-00009, -00024A, -00025, -00026, -00038 and
-00039(part); 3-0058-00004(part), -00007 and -00013; and
3-0059-00012A(part)], and extending west into Chowan
County.
Property owners, residents and other interested parties may
review this item during normal business hours before the
quasi-judicial Public Hearing at the Perquimans County
Planning & Zoning Office, 104 Dobbs Street, Hertford, NC, or
call 252-426-2027 or email dgodfrey@perquimanscountync.
gov for more information. Public comments at the hearing
will be in the form of sworn testimony subject to cross
examination.
Perquimans
Weekly
(USPS428-080)
Vol. 84 No. 33
Published each Wednesday.
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