(ELIZABETH CITY) -- The first major wind farm in the southeast is being planned off the Albemarle Sound. An Oregon-based company has filed with regulators for a project that could provide power for between 55,000 and 77,000 homes.

Wayne Harris, Director of the Albemarle Economic Development Commission, said, "This puts us on the map. It's going to be the first in the southeast, it's one of the biggest east of the Mississippi, and so it associates our area with wind."

If state regulators approve, construction could start late this year.