"This project is a great example of how university research can expand our understanding of an issue - in this case, wind energy," said UNC Chancellor Holden Thorp. "Then an industry partner like Duke Energy can use that research to do what they do best and develop this on a larger scale."

"We are looking forward to working with UNC and residents of the Outer Banks to determine if and how we can use wind energy on a larger scale," said Brett Carter, president of Duke Energy Carolinas. "Our company has experience developing land-based wind in other parts of the country, and we are excited about this pilot project and learning more about how we can use this renewable resource in our home state."

Duke Energy has 634 megawatts of land-based wind energy in Pennsylvania, Texas and Wyoming, another 99 megawatts under construction and an additional 251 megawatts of wind projects scheduled to begin operation in 2010. The pilot turbine installation on North Carolina's Pamlico Sound will facilitate utility-scale wind energy development by enabling studies to optimize measuring and predicting the wind resource, quantifying ecological impacts, and demonstrating turbine performance in tropical storm conditions.