UNC and Duke Energy will join forces for a pilot project focusing on wind energy. 

State Sen. Ellie Kinnaird says the meeting of the North Carolina Energy Policy Council focused on the pilot project and wind energy in general.

If North Carolina can figure out a way to harness the wind energy, it can create 9,000 permanent jobs, and the wind turbine installation could create over 40,000 jobs.  It could also save a great deal of water and carbon over conventional power sources.

Kinnaird says wind energy does have many factors to take into consideration.  One example would be the potential ecological effects of the turbines, as well as the effect on North Carolina’s military bases. 

She says two of the biggest questions about wind energy and the turbines could be answered by the pilot project.

Orange County resident Tim Tobin, a partner in Greenbridge Developments and founder of Pickards Mountain Eco-Institute, is the chair of the North Carolina Energy Policy Council.