Commission to Fibrowatt: Speak Out or Lose Out

Fibrowatt has been given an ultimatum by Surry County officials: make a real effort to respond to concerns of residents, or lose incentive funding for the poultry litter-burning power plant proposed for the county. Commissioner Jim Harrell Jr's motion read, in part, “we feel that we provided Fibrowatt with every opportunity to prove to our county that they are a company that deserves incentives. We regret that they have been unsuccessful so far in convincing us and thus we believe that it is our duty to withdraw any offer of incentives to the company known as Fibrowatt unless there is significant change in their corporate behavior.” The motion was approved unanimously by the commissioners present for the meeting.

Harrell said he was concerned that a lot of the citizens of Elkin had questions about Fibrowatt that the company was not addressing. The commissioner said he contacted Fibrowatt and gave the company three weeks to begin addressing concerns. Now, more than a month after the request was sent out, the company has failed to provide information. Harrell said he also sent the company a letter last April to request information but never received any.

After the meeting, Chairman Paul Johnson explained that the decision by the board was not made in an effort to slam the door on Fibrowatt, but to spur the company to action. Johnson said the commissioners will not take any action to approve final incentives for Fibrowatt unless the company makes the effort to provide the county with more information about the company and addresses the concerns of the citizens. The company and the county to this point have not been able to agree on a final incentive package.

(Information from the Elkin Tribune)