Fibrowatt LLC does not have a key document that will help it set up shop in Sampson County for years to come, but has taken another step in establishing itself in North Carolina.

The company announced Monday that it is has executed an initial agreement with Fagen, Inc. out of Minnesota for the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) of its first biomass-fueled power project in North Carolina, of which the primary fuel consumed will be poultry litter. The agreement, the terms of which are confidential, can also be extended to two additional projects.

There are three projects on the horizon in this state. The selection in April 2008 of the Sampson site, near the intersection of Interstate 40 and N.C. 403, was followed up with the naming of Surry County as Fibrowatt’s western destination and Montgomery as a central site.

“This agreement is another step for us in North Carolina, helping the state move forward toward its goal of being a leader in the implementation of home-grown renewable energy,” Fibrowatt CEO Rupert Fraser said in a prepared statement.

The initial North Carolina project will produce 55 megawatts of renewable electricity, enough power annually to supply over 40,000 homes.

Greg Thornton, Sampson’s local liaison for Fibrowatt, announced the news to the Sampson County Board of Commissioners at the board’s meeting Monday. He said, despite ongoing discussions concerning a power purchase agreement, the contract with Fagen was a step in the right direction.

“It is a very positive thing,” said Thornton. “It shows that we, at Fibrowatt, are working behind the scenes to do what we can do to facilitate this project as we get closer to a PPA. The agreement is for the first facility here in North Carolina, in hopes of taking it to the second facility and the third. It’s really a very positive step for us and hopefully for Sampson County.”

County manager Rick Moorefield said the move shows a commitment locally.

“We’re still waiting for a power purchase agreement,” said Moorefield, “but I think this is just an indication of Fibrowatt’s commitment to this project ... while they get the power purchase agreement details worked out with Progress Energy.”

It has been a year and a half since the announcement of the Sampson site, and nearly a year since an economic development agreement was signed with the county in November 2008. But there is still no PPA.

Terry Walmsley, vice president for environmental and public affairs for Fibrowatt LLC, said in May that a power purchase agreement, a long-term pact to sell the renewable energy created by the plant, is “probably the most important thing for the viability of the project.”

Fibrominn, a 55-megawatt biomass plant and the first poultry-litter plant in the United States, opened in Benson, Minn., in 2007. A PPA was obtained prior to the announcement of the Minnesota site. That agreement was for 21 years.

The Sampson project, to be identified as FibroCoast Biomass Power Plant, will support 100 new jobs and contribute upwards of $100 million annually to the regional economy, company officials said. It will support far more jobs during actual construction. Before that can be realized, however, there needs to be a PPA in hand, Fibrowatt officials have said.

In May, Walmsley shared a timetable for the FibroCoast plant in Sampson.

After obtaining the PPA, there would be six to 12 months for all permitting. Major site work will likely not begin until the end of next year, with the plant up and running by late 2012 or early 2013. That was five months ago.

On Monday, board chairman Jarvis McLamb inquired as to the status of the power purchase agreement.

“There’s no indication how long that can be though, is there?” McLamb asked.

“No, sir,” Moorefield answered.

Last month, the Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League, Sampson and Duplin chapters of Citizens for a Safe Environment and Surry County’s Citizens Alliance for a Clean Healthy Environment filed a joint motion with the North Carolina Utilities Commission requesting it indefinitely delay the use of poultry waste to generate electricity.

The poultry waste requirement was included in the 2007 legislation adopting renewable energy standards for North Carolina. It requires power companies, rural electric cooperatives and city-owned utilities to get a portion of their power from renewable sources, such as solar and agricultural waste products.

By 2012, at least 170,000 megawatt hours of power must come from poultry litter. By 2014, electricity from poultry litter must reach 900,000 megawatt hours annually, the 2007 law states.

The motion by BREDL and others, filed Aug. 14, asked for a one-year delay and a reduction of electricity from poultry waste from 900,000 megawatt hours to 300,000. On Aug. 31, the Utilities Commission set Sept. 18 as the deadline for interested parties to submit comments. That deadline has now passed.

“We hope to hear from them soon,” said Thornton, who disputed purported high cost of Fibrowatt’s renewable energy, saying it costs about half what companies are paying for solar power.

“Is there a scheduled time for that to be voted on?” commissioner Jefferson Strickland asked him.

“I don’t think there is,” said Thornton. It came up very quickly, it was very definite, with Sept. 18 being the last notification. So we were hoping, and still are hoping, that it will be a short amount of time.”

For now, Thornton said there was a push in the community to spread word about Fibrowatt and dispell what he said are “misconceptions” about the plant. Thornton shared his wish to have Walmsley talk with local electric cooperatives.

“That’s one thing we have not had a chance to do, is to go directly in front of them and answer their questions and field their concerns. I think it’s a good point to put in front of them, South River, Tri-County, they would benefit by buying this electricity; they would be supporting their local farmers,” said Thornton. “I think that would be a great point to get in front of them.”

“They’re behind it, I mean I understand they are,” said chairman McLamb.

Thornton said a 12-member committee, similar to the Citizens Advisory Panel set up by Fibrominn, has now been established in Sampson to speak to issues and inform the public about the company. Members of the panel will be in attendance from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Oct. 17, in the picnic area at Royal Lane Park, where the Clinton Recreation and Parks Department is co-sponsoring a lunch in support of Sampson Regional Medical Center, Thornton said.

“From a public information committee standpoint, we have 12 people on our board that are from the community who we are going to introduce into the community,” he remarked. “We’ve got a little plan to get those guys involved in the community and we invite everyone out to take a look at the 12 persons who are on our committee.”

Chris Berendt can be reached at 910-592-8137, ext. 121, or by email at sicrime@myclintonnc.com.