From Staff Reports

WOODFIN ó Progress Energy announced last Wednesday that it will not appeal a Woodfin town-board decision rejecting the construction of a $72 million power plan.

Instead, the company said it plans to get the public involved in finding other ways to generate energy for a growing region. However, company spokesman Ken Maxwell said he would not be specific, saying he expects the utility to release details of initiatives in the next few weeks.

The decision, in effect, constitutes a victory for residents who charged that the building of an oil-fired plant on the site of an old Buncombe County landfill in Woodfin would damage property values and pollute the air.

Meanwhile, Progress Energyís decision leaves the utility facing a potential power shortage, according to earlier public statements it has made.

Progress had until May 21 to file a court challenge to an April 2 decision by the Woodfin Board of Adjustment denying a conditional-use permit for the project.

The company decided not to appeal because of the degree of public opposition, Maxwell said. He termed the response to the plan an ìeye-opener.î