Press Releases
10/31/2019
Iberdrola Renewables Announces Permit Application for North Carolina Wind Power Project
Iberdrola Renewables Announces Permit Application for North Carolina Wind Power Project
Project Would Be First Commercial Scale Wind Project in State
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January 27, 2011
PORTLAND, Ore. — Iberdrola Renewables Inc., filed an application today with the North Carolina Utilities Commission as the first step toward development of a wind energy project it is considering in Pasquotank and Perquimans Counties in the northeastern part of North Carolina.
If built, the Desert Wind Power Project — named for the flat, agricultural region in the area — would be located on approximately 20,000 acres of private land near Elizabeth City. The company is considering development of a 300 megawatt (MW) project, which is enough to power between 55,000 – 70,000 North Carolina homes with clean, homegrown electricity.
“Developing our green economy is a cornerstone of my vision for North Carolina’s economic future,” Governor Bev Perdue said. “Projects such as the proposed Iberdrola Renewables’ wind farm can help us lay the foundation for North Carolina to lead the nation in clean, homegrown energy.”
Iberdrola Renewables has been working with the communities, landowners, multiple state and federal agencies, and conducting various studies on the potential project since 2009. The filing today represents the first step of many regulatory reviews that must be completed before Iberdrola Renewables makes a final decision on the project, which could begin construction as early as late 2011.
If developed as proposed, the Project is expected to bring substantial economic benefits to the area.
“Governor Perdue has made fostering the development of clean energy projects a priority to make North Carolina a national leader in the green economy,” Commerce Secretary Keith Crisco said. “We encourage Iberdrola Renewables to invest in North Carolina for a major wind energy project. This project would spark creation of clean energy manufacturing and jobs in North Carolina.”
Construction would be expected to create over 400 jobs, payments to local landowners could approach $1 million per year for the life of the Project, and additional property tax revenue would result from the Project’s operation. Additionally, due to the Project’s small footprint, less than two percent of the agricultural land would be taken out of corn, soybean, and cotton production.
Iberdrola Renewables, Inc. is headquartered in Portland, Ore., with more than 850 employees. It is part of the Iberdrola Renovables global group, the world’s leading provider of wind power with more than 12,000 MW of renewable energy installed around the world, and more than 4,600 MW of that wind power located in the U.S. www.iberdrolarenewables.us.
Media Contact:
Art Sasse, Director, Communications & Brand, Iberdrola Renewables, 503-796-7740
Paul Copleman, Media Relations, Iberdrola Renewables, 207-641-2805
About Avangrid: Avangrid, Inc. (NYSE: AGR) aspires to be the leading sustainable energy company in the United States. Headquartered in Orange, CT with approximately $44 billion in assets and operations in 24 U.S. states, Avangrid has two primary lines of business: networks and renewables. Through its networks business, Avangrid owns and operates eight electric and natural gas utilities, serving more than 3.3 million customers in New York and New England. Through its renewables business, Avangrid owns and operates a portfolio of renewable energy generation facilities across the United States. Avangrid employs approximately 8,000 people and has been recognized by JUST Capital in 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024 as one of the JUST 100 companies – a ranking of America’s best corporate citizens. In 2024, Avangrid ranked first among utilities and 12 overall. The company supports the U.N.’s Sustainable Development Goals and was named among the World’s Most Ethical Companies in 2024 for the sixth consecutive year by the Ethisphere Institute. Avangrid is a member of the group of companies controlled by Iberdrola, S.A. For more information, visit www.avangrid.com.
About Iberdrola: Iberdrola is one of the world's biggest energy companies and a leader in renewables, spearheading the energy transition to a low carbon economy. The group supplies energy to almost 100 million people in dozens of countries. With a focus on renewable energy, smart networks and smart solutions for customers, Iberdrola’s main markets include Europe (Spain, the United Kingdom, Portugal, France, Germany, Italy and Greece), the United States, Brazil, Mexico and Australia. The company is also present in growth markets such as Japan, Taiwan, Ireland, Sweden and Poland, among others.
With a workforce of nearly 40,000 and assets in excess of €141.7 billion, across the world, Iberdrola helps to support 400,000 jobs across its supply chain, with annual procurement of €12.2 billion. A benchmark in the fight against climate change, Iberdrola has invested more than €130 billion over the past two decades to help build a sustainable energy model, based on sound environmental, social and governance (ESG) principles.
