North Carolina’s first commercial-scale wind farm enters operation
North Carolina’s first commercial-scale wind farm, the Amazon Wind Farm US East in Pasquotank and Perquimans counties, entered full operation earlier this month.
The farm is powered by Avangrid Renewables at Desert Wind and features 104 turbines with enough capacity to power the equivalent of approximately 61,000 American homes annually.
“We are delighted to add the Amazon Wind Farm US East to our growing portfolio of renewable power generation facilities, which are providing clean energy for companies and communities across the United States,” James P. Torgerson, president and CEO of Avangrid Renewables’ parent company, AVANGRID, Inc., said. “We are committed to our vision of leading the transformation of the U.S. energy industry by developing, building and operating the clean energy infrastructure of the future.”
The construction process, which lasted 18 months, involved more than 30 North Carolina-based companies and 500 workers at its peak. Avangrid Renewables spent $18 million locally for the project. Landowner payments and taxes are expected to add over $1 million to the local economy annually.
The wind farm will also prove permanent employment for 17 on-site technicians.
“Almost everyone in the community knows someone who worked on the wind farm, sold or rented something that helped build the wind farm, or owns land where the project was built,” Cecil Perry, chairman of the Pasquotank County Board of Commissioners, said. “These jobs, and this nearly $400 million investment in a rural part of North Carolina, are welcome — everyone in the county will benefit from the long-term property tax payments.”
The energy generated by the farm will be used to power cloud data centers owned by Amazon Web Services, Inc. (AWS), an Amazon.com company. AWS announced it had achieved 40 percent renewable energy use. The company has a goal of 50 percent renewable energy use by the end of 2017 and a long-term goal of 100 percent.
“Expanding the wind industry into North Carolina came about thanks in large part to collaboration with AWS, a supportive community, and improving technology,” Frank Burkhartsmeyer, Avangrid Renewables’ U.S. CEO, said. “Ultimately, a wind farm this size has to offer competitive energy and complement the existing use of the land, so the strong winds and farmland here made for a great match.”
