The money from the Orange County Utility Extension Fund went to to Taylor Fish Farm owned by local entrepreneurs Valee Taylor and Rene Stewart, according to a county news release. It is located on land previously used for tobacco farming in the Cedar Grove Township of Orange County.

The farm is housed in a 10,200 square foot state-of-the art "barn" where tilapia is raised, from fingerling through average harvest size fish. The custom-designed facility uses an indoor recirculating water system and an anabolic digestive system, and was designed with the support of N.C. State aquaculture extension agency. It received its first shipment of starter fish during the summer.

At peak production the facility can produce approximately 250,000 to 300,000 pounds of tilapia on an annual basis. The venture's owners are already planning for the future with potential expansion plans to include harvesting the liquid and solid by-productsof the aquaculture process as a natural source of plant food, and possibly developing a hydroponics greenhouse.

The county supported the effort as the construction of the facility required extensive utility work, and the Fund which was established in 1993, used its disbursement capabilities to defray some minor costs of construction. For business start-ups to qualify for consideration, the project must meet primary criteria including having proper zoning, an Orange County employment focus, adherence to Orange County wage scales, and obtainable tax receipts from the increased property value in excess of the Fund outlay.

The program was designed to further encourage economic development by providing funds to cover a portion of costs required to extend utility infrastructure necessary to stimulate economic development, with the resulting increase in property tax revenue being used to repay the fund.