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EDENTON — Apex Clean Energy's Timbermill Wind facility reached a new milestone last week when its wind turbines began producing power for the first time on Dec. 12.

“We’ve been testing and commissioning turbines over the past several weeks, so the start to commercial operations went smoothly," said Brian O'Shea, Apex director of public engagement. "We are excited to be formally operating North Carolina's second wind farm and putting clean energy on the grid in Chowan County."

North Carolina's first commercial wind energy facility opened in Pasquotank County in 2016, when the Amazon Wind Farm U.S. East first began generating electricity in December of that year.

Each of Apex's 45 4.2-megawatt wind turbines at Timbermill can generate enough power in a single rotation to power the average North Carolina home for more than four hours. The project will generate enough clean energy annually to power 47,000 homes. Apex did not provide a figure for how much power the test produced.

The Timbermill Wind facility produces power for the national power grid, but its power is purchased on a contract by Google, the search giant. Apex and Google announced a power-purchase agreement in August for the full 189 megawatt capacity of the wind turbine facility.

The power produced by the Timbermill wind farm is not shipped off site but becomes part of the overall national electric grid. Google's purchase contracts are part of its commitment to power its facilities using 100% renewable energy.

Timbermill Wind, which represents a $500 million investment, is expected to be Chowan County’s largest taxpayer, according to Apex, creating around $33 million in tax revenue and more than 250 jobs during construction.

“We are excited to begin operations at Timbermill Wind and are grateful for the hundreds of North Carolina workers, suppliers, and partners who have made the project possible, including our eight full-time operations workers led by site manager Tyler Finley,” O’Shea said.