Event Draws crowd

Thursday, December 6, 2007 — Fibrowatt’s open house at the Stanly County Agri-Civic Center drew a large cross-section of Stanly County residents Tuesday afternoon.Fibrowatt Founder and Chairman Rupert Frasor was on hand to answer any and all questions concerning a poultry-litter fueled power plant that will possibly be built in Stanly County. The U.S. 52 site north of Norwood is one of three sites being considered for Fibro-watt’s Central Piedmont location. The other two sites are in Montgomery and Moore counties.Frasor said Fibrowatt plans to build three plants in various geographical areas of the state that are located close to the poultry industry in the North Piedmont, Central Piedmont and Eastern North Carolina.“We started with 50 sites and have narrowed it down to seven for the three plants,” Frasor said. “We hope to have a decision on the Central Piedmont site within six weeks to two months.”The site selection criteria included topography of the land and adjacent land end uses, access to roads, proximity to poultry litter and electrical transmission lines and availability of water.“It’s a multi-faceted decision for Fibrowatt, not just closeness to the poultry litter,” said Robert Van Geons, director of Econo-mic Development Commission (EDC) for Stanly County. “Our site has everything Fibro-watt needs to make this work.”The final part of the process is the open house where Fibrowatt management looks to become familiar with the community and its people while dispelling any concerns regarding the business and its impact on the environment.“People are very important to us and we feel this is a very important part of the process,” Frasor said. “Not only do we want to talk with the local people, we want them to come visit our Minnesota plant, see how we operate and see first hand if they smell anything.”A group of Stanly County leaders, headed by Van Geons and County Commissioner Sherrill Smith, toured the Minnesota plant Nov. 17.In commenting on that plant visit to the attendees at the open house Smith said, “This is the type company we need in Stanly County.”Smith said that the tour of the Minnesota plant was conducted by local residents, not Fibrowatt management, and that the residents were thrilled with the plant and its impact on their local economy.Turning to Frasor, Smith said, “We need a good industry in Stanly County and we encourage you to look favorably on our site.”Commissioner Dr. Nalin Mehta was impressed with the good turnout of Stanly County citizens and felt the open house had strengthened the county’s position for being Fibrowatt’s choice.“We’ve had people here today from all walks of life — from the farmers to the bankers,” Mehta said. “This should make a very positive impression that we want them here. “Personally, I don’t see one negative in their locating here.” Commenting on the open house, Smith said, “This has been very positive. Our citizens that had questions have been asking them and the Fibrowatt people have been answering them. “This is the type community they’d like to locate in.”