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County leaders award contracts to crafters
By Derek Hodges
County leaders awarded two contracts March 9 to crafters looking for space in what will become the Jackson County Green Energy Park.
The arts and crafts center is being constructed at the former county landfill site in Dillsboro. The project involves capturing methane gas from the buried trash and burning it to power the planned facility.
Work is under way to renovate existing facilities at the site that will be home to crafters’ studios and production areas. According to project coordinator Timm Muth, the area may also feature outdoor recreation space, greenhouses and a cafe.
Estimates of the potential energy from the landfill gas place the capacity at 1.2 million British Thermal Units per hour, Muth said. That would be enough to heat 300-400 homes, he said.
In previous discussions, county leaders considered filling spaces for crafters with potters, glass-blowers, herbalists and other artisans. While those types of enterprises may still locate in the facility, during their most recent review of the project commissioners voted to approve a blacksmith and an alternative fuel producer for the space.
County officials approved a contract that will put blacksmith Matthew Shirey, a Sylva resident, in a space at the park. Since the project involves burning methane to produce heat, it will provide a “perfect home” for a blacksmith’s shop, Shirey said.
“I’m really excited that the county is behind this,” he said. “It will provide starving artists a chance to become contributing members of the community and a space of their own with reasonable rent and free fuel.”
County Manager Ken Westmoreland said he is excited about the potential for preserving mountain heritage that having a blacksmith in the park would create.
“The last thing we had in mind as a potential artisan for this project is a blacksmith, though,” he said.
Alan Begley and Sam Gray are co-operators of Smoky Mountain Biofuels, a company that will produce biodiesel.
Biodiesel, which can be made from used or unused cooking oils, is a cleaner-burning fuel than petroleum-based diesel. It can be used in standard diesel-burning vehicles with no extra equipment, Gray said.
Gray, who is a teacher at Cullowhee Valley School, said he looks at the biodiesel project as an educational opportunity for his students.
“One of the best things I can do with the kids is show them local leadership,” Gray said.
Experts expect biodiesel to “sweep the South and the nation,” and state government vehicles will be required to switch to alternative fuels in the coming years, Gray said.
County leaders approved a contract for use of space at the park, as well as a lease agreement for the biofuels group.
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