Land Use Plan – 2002 - Stanly County, North Carolina

Electric and Natural Gas
Conclusion
STANLY COUNTY
The provision of electrical power and natural gas, though not as critical a determining factor in
the pattern of development as water and sanitary sewer service, is critical to the future of any
area. All of Stanly County is served by electricity. Providers include Duke Power, the North
Carolina Electric Membership Corporation, and the North Carolina Municipal Power Agency #1.
The City of Albemarle, Carolina Power & Light, Duke Power, and Union EMC all distribute power
in Stanly County.
Natural gas can be a critical factor in determining where certain types of industries that are
dependent on natural gas can and cannot locate. Natural Gas is provided to Stanly County by
the North Carolina Natural Gas Company, which is owned by Carolina Power and Light, to
limited areas of the county. A 16-inch transmission line serves the southwestern portion of
Stanly County south of Stanfield. Natural gas is not provided in the western part of the county
including Locust and extending northward to New London and Richfield. Also not served by
natural gas are the southeastern part of the county, south of Aquadale and Norwood. A six-inch
transmission line comes in from Anson County just east of Hills-View Road and continues north
along Aquadale Road. The line then serves the Albemarle area as well as the airport and Badin.
A three-inch transmission line also serves the Aquadale and the Norwood area.
Water, sewer, and natural gas do not serve a large portion of the county. Where extensions of
lines occur will greatly affect how development takes place throughout the county, and therefore
should be planned carefully. Areas that already have higher densities as well as those with
contaminated wells should be prioritized first, while less desirable development areas should be
avoided.
For natural gas areas that are close to existing lines it should be analyzed to locate a large
industry that could pay for extending the lines and in turn would bring the lines closer to other
potential smaller industries that could locate next to the larger one. Or possibly the cost could be
shared between several industries that locate together.
Community Facilities Analysis
Education
In 1996 Stanly County Schools and Albemarle City Schools merged together to form Stanly
County School District. In 1999 there was 19 schools with 521 teachers and 9,955 students
enrolled (see Table 4-3). Two new K-8 elementary schools—Kendall Valley School northwest of
Albemarle and Runny Creek School east of Locust—were completed in 2002 both with capacity.
Table 4-3. Stanly County School District Enrollment, 1999.
Number Number
Number
Type of Schools of Teachers Grades of Students
Elementary 14 332 K-8, K-5 6,532
Middle 1 33 6-8 556
High School 4 156 9-12 2,867
Total 19 521 9,955
Source: Stanly County Economic Development Commission.
Note: Does not include statistics for recently completed Kendall Valley and Running
Creek Schools.
Land Use Plan 4-15 6/02