The North Carolina Utility Commission’s decision brings a Tennessee energy company closer to realizing its 14-year quest to draw electricity from North Carolina waters. Hydro Matrix expects to start construction by October on the 4.4MW power project that would produce electricity to power about 1700 homes by next year.
The hydroelectric project will be built on the Jordan dam near the Town of Moncure. The US$4.5M project is a joint venture between Hydro Matrix in Tennessee and North american-hydro in Wisconsin. The two companies will sell the electricity from the project to Progress Energy, which will then distribute the electricity over the regional power grid.