Two North Carolina farmers who are helping to harvest energy from the wind are in the spotlight in a new documentary that was screened across the state in late June.
“Reinventing Power: America’s Renewable Energy Boom” was produced by the Sierra Club, Transit Pictures and A Squared. The 50-minute film tells stories from eight states of how clean energy business, jobs and public initiatives have transformed lives and communities across the country.
One of the featured regions is northeastern North Carolina, where the Amazon East Wind Farm has provided a boost to business and local government coffers, as well as supporting farms on which the 104 turbines are located.
In “Reinventing Power,” Elizabeth City farmers Horace Pritchard and Steve Harris tell how lease payments from Avangrid Renewables, the wind farm operator, provide a steady income base for their farms as well as about half a million dollars annually in property tax payments to Pasquotank and Perquimans counties.
"It helps to provide stability. We know what our income is going to be from these windmills every year," Harris says in the film. "But it helps not only the landowner, it helps the county - so to me it's a win-win. This is nothing but basically gravy for the county."
Audiences in Asheville, Charlotte, Greensboro, Raleigh and - of course - Elizabeth City gathered in the second two weeks of June for screenings of the film, sponsored by the state Chapter of the Sierra Club and its Wenoca, Piedmont Plateau, Central Piedmont and Capital groups. Each event included a panel and/or audience discussion.
Pritchard and Harris attended their hometown screening, participating in a question-and-answer session with fellow panelists Cecil Perry, chair of the Pasquotank County Commission, and Adam Forrer of the Southeastern Wind Coalition (who also appeared in the film). The discussion was moderated by Phil Donahue, chair of the newly organized Green Green group that co-hosted the event with the N.C. Chapter.
Close to 100 local residents turned out for the screening, reception and discussion at the Museum of the Albemarle. Their questions ranged from the effect of wind turbines on birds to the county’s use of property tax income for local school improvements, as well as concern over the impact of proposed solar projects on farming.
Harris also joined the audience in Raleigh, where about 140 people viewed the film and discussion by energy business and policy experts at the N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences.
Diane Cherry, strategic director of the N.C. Sustainable Energy Association; Steve Kalland, executive director of the N.C. Clean Energy Technology Center; and Mary Penny Kelley, special advisor for Gov. Roy Cooper's Hometown Strong initiative, fielded questions from the audience. Jonas Monast, director of the Center on Climate, Energy, Environment & Economics at UNC School of Law, moderated the discussion.
An equally large crowd filled the Collider in Asheville for a screening sponsored by the Wenoca Group, MountainTrue and the Collider. The event included audience discussion with experts on solar and wind power, and energy conservation.
The Central Piedmont Group and the Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal campaign teamed up with a collection of Charlotte-area environmental and social justice groups for a screening at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Charlotte. The audience of about 70 saw a panel discussion featuring Dimple Ajmera, a Charlotte City Council member and Environmental Committee chair; Joel Segal, executive director of the N.C. Climate Solutions Coalition; Emilee Syrewicze, executive director of the Catawba Riverkeeper; and Sierra Club NC Chapter Chair Steve Copulsky.
In Greensboro, a small and enthusiastic audience gathered at the Scuppernong bookstore to view and discuss the film, as well as how to tie activities from the Sierra Club's Ready for 100 campaign into the broader scope of renewable energy actions. The RF100 campaign calls on local governments to pledge to make a transition to clean energy; several local governments in North Carolina have signed on or are considering resolutions to do so.
Clips from “Reinventing Power” may be viewed on the Sierra Club’s website. The entire film is due to be released online later this year. In the meantime, keep an eye on our calendar for screenings near you!