When Keith Bradshaw decided to open a new restaurant in the small Hertford County town of Murfreesboro he felt confident in what seemed like an uptick of business all around him. "I think to take a small county like we are and have the growth that we are, says a lot for the people we have in different places. These things don't just happen overnight." Bradshaw said.
The sights of new industry and fresh opportunity do seem to dot the countryside of Hertford County in the north eastern corner of North Carolina. Recently Hertford County enjoyed a boom of new industry with many of those companies focused on renewable energy. Garald Cottrell, President of Wellons Energy Solutions says it's all about using the resources around them. Cottrell says, "From this standpoint we take material that has typically been left to rot on the ground and create steam electricity in the process."
Wellons Energy Solutions opened a biomass boiler facility next to the Perdue Feed Plant in Cofield. Cottrell says, "This facility is permitted for four different fuel types we have logging residues or biomass that consists of tree tops and limbs that are not a product, we are taking it off the forest floor."
The boilers burn wood waste products that make steam and electricity to help power Perdue's soy crushing and feed mill operations. Both Perdue and Wellons agree the partnership allows for lower electricity costs and an environmental advantage.
Garald Cottrell says the advantage benefits everyone. "By utilizing biomass we have provided a fixed cost for electricity to Perdue for the next six years for their steam costs at this facility." Other renewable projects cropping up include construction on the new Enviva Plant in Ahoskie which produces wood pellets that are burned to make electricity often in the place of coal at power plants in Europe and the United States.
Director of Economic Development Bill Early says you will also find the solar power industry making a big impact on Hertford County. "This project is unique it will be owned by Duke Power and run by Sunpower and the utility will be used by the electric coops. We are one of the few counties in North Carolina that is served by Dominion Power. One of the unique things about our power lines is we are also connected to PJM and there is a huge market for power on that grid. So people can actually generate power here in Hertford County and sell it in the Northeast." Early says. Larger mainstay employers like Nucor Steel continue to grow and draw other companies to support its steel making operations.
Another new project will be a new expansion for Structural Coatings based in Clayton, North Carolina. The company chose to build the facility near Nucor to provide painting and coating needs for the steel maker. The storefronts of Murfreesboro are also rising to meet the steady growth and vision of nearby large employer Chowan University. It is here where Keith Bradshaw is watching his dreams of business become reality.
"Being right here at the campus is a plus for us and we needed something like this right here, I think."
A North Carolina Rural Center building reuse grant helped Bradshaw realize his dream of opening his restaurant, Tavern 125. Bradshaw admits he loves serving his hometown. "I like living here a lot and I love serving the people here. We try to a great job with the look of the restaurant, the cleanliness, and the people."
Bradshaw says Tavern 125 is a testament to what can still happen in a sluggish economy with a little support and a lot of vision. "This little restaurant right here, we have five full time in the kitchen and we have eight full time girls out here, so it is a lot of people making a living off of this restaurant."
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