The winner of a contest held to protest state plans for a new cargo port is a local councilman who wants the disputed 600 acres of woods and marshland near Southport used to produce alternative energy.
Frank Bausch, a Caswell Beach councilman, won the group No Port/Southport's $500 first prize on Thursday.
The contest by opponents of the planned massive cargo terminal sought a more eco-friendly and "fiscally responsible" use for the land.
The winner's idea divides the 600 acres into seven sites featuring energy production and storage technologies including solar panels and a wind farm.
Bausch said that the idea is based in part on the Obama administration's push for more green jobs and technology.
"It is flat land right next to the ocean with a wind source. You can put pretty much any kind of renewable energy on that site," Bausch said.
His plan should generate a substantial amount of electricity, which Bausch said Southport could use or sell.
The group opened its contest in March as a protest against the port authority's decision and received 27 entries from as far away as Houston, New York and New Haven, Conn.
Ideas included a marine research center, a cancer medical center, and a cultural center with an outdoor theater.
The State Ports Authority estimates the $2.3 billion international container port will support nearly a half million jobs and generate $1.2 billion annually by wooing business from East Coast ports.
The authority expects the cargo terminal to challenge New Jersey, Virginia and South Carolina ports for business.
Construction is slated to begin in 2017, and the port is projected to reach full capacity in 2030.
It would likely be funded by state and federal funds, and private financing.
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