April 2012 Posts (11)

From the Avery Journal:

Solar power plants are becoming big business, and one Avery County company is riding the wave, bringing the jobs and benefits of tapping into a new industry to Avery County.

Eagle Electron Power Partners in Banner Elk specializes in “power-plant design, procurement and installation,” said consultant Chris Quinn, who manages EEPP’s solar projects. According to Quinn, EEPP is succeeding where many…

There's never a dull moment when you have chocolate in your mouth, and cocoa beans on the brain!. French Broad Chocolates have realized their vision of a sustainable, bean-to-bar, Dan & Jael-style chocolate factory.  Over the last several months, the have leased a 4000 square foot warehouse, secured an SBA-backed small business loan from our bank, and transformed the warehouse into a beautiful, almost-completed factory space. …

For Immediate Release

For an interview with Joe McKinney, LOS Executive

Director, please contact Erica Allison,

Allison Development Group at 828.329.5089

or erica@allisondevelopmentgroup.com.

GroWNC Community Meetings Announced

Public input sought on draft goals and objectives related to growth and economic development

           …

SAFER Bioeconomy Case Study Series: Mississippi’s Strategic Biomass Solutions

To borrow a quote from Shakespeare, “What’s in a name?” In the case of the Mississippi Technology Alliance’s Strategic Biomass Solutions (SBS), an evolving organizational mission has meant a name that has also changed over time. While the original focus was on looking for ways to expand the market for…

A Propane AutoGas Vehicle Roadshow event will be held on May 3rd from 9:30am to 1:00pm on the Biltmore Estate. This free event will feature presentations on the benefits of  propane autogas as a fuel (including significant cost savings), the vehicle and fueling options, and local success stories…

Is your print volume out of control?  Most business spend 3-10% of their annual revenue on printing, while most of it ends up in the recycling or trash bins.  Asheville Office Solutions, WNC's only exclusive Canon office equipment dealer, offers professional services to educate business on ways to reduce printing.  We work with businesses in the area to show you simple and cost effective ways to cut down on your waste, and help you save money.   Give us a call for a free…

"New Belgium Brewing Co. picked Asheville over a list of competitors, including Philadelphia, to build its East Coast brewery, drawn as much by Asheville’s bikepaths and greenways as the city’s growing craft beer scene."  Read the full article:  http://www.citizen-times.com/article/20120405/NEWS01/120405014

As part of the Rural Energy for America Program, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has provided the N.C. Solar Center with funding to help rural small businesses and agricultural producers throughout North Carolina and parts of Virginia and South Carolina assess the feasibility of renewable energy projects at their site. This USDA funding covers 75% of the cost of an on-site renewable energy site assessment for eligible companies. We recently completed the first few assessments…

Buncombe County government expects to bring in about $600,000 a year from a system that turns gas from rotting garbage at the county landfill into electricity, the county Board of Commissioners was told Tuesday.The system started operation around the beginning of the year and just recently began running at full capacity, producing enough electricity to power 1,100 homes…

One of North Carolina's newly established business incubators, the Biofuels Company Accelerator, was recently highlighted in Site Selection magazine's March 2012 Energy Report. The first component of the N.C. Biofuels Campus in Oxford, the accelerator was opened by the…

“Apple (yes, that Apple) filed its plans with the N.C. Utilities Commission last week to build the 4.8-megawatt project in Maiden, about 40 miles northwest of Charlotte. That’s where Cupertino, Calif.-based Apple has built a data center to support the company’s iCloud online data storage system and its Siri voice-recognition software.  The fuel cell project, the nation’s largest such project not built by an electric utility company, will be developed this year. It will be located on…