Raleigh, NC—North Carolina could meet a
substantial portion of its electricity needs from the sun, according to a new
report by Environment North Carolina Research and Policy Center. The study, “Growing Solar in North
Carolina,” projects increasing numbers of solar farms and nearly 700,000 solar
panels on top of homes and businesses in the next twenty years, including 100,000
solar roofs in the Triangle alone.
“Move over Sunshine State,” said Elizabeth
Ouzts, State Director of Environment North Carolina and co-author of the
report. “With 250 days of sunlight
each year, the forecast for solar energy in North Carolina is bright.”
With nearly as much annual solar energy
intensity as Florida, North Carolina’s solar potential is vast. But it is limited by the availability
of roofs and land suitable for solar systems and the speed with which new
projects can be installed. Taking
these factors into account, Environment North Carolina determined that solar
power could supply 2 percent of the state’s electricity needs by 2020, and 14
percent by 2030.
Fulfilling North Carolina’s solar potential
could make the state a leader in the region. Solar companies nurtured in North Carolina’s technological
hubs, and encouraged by the growing industry, are already emerging.
“This Brownfields
to Brightfields project demonstrates that solar is reliably contributing to our
electric supply,” said Richard Harkrader, CEO of Carolina Solar Energy. “This
and other solar projects are putting North Carolinians to work and displacing
dirty sources of energy.”
Increased solar capacity can boost the state’s
economy, since one megawatt of solar power creates nine times as many jobs as
installing one megawatt of coal or gas power. Costs of solar installations are
falling rapidly, and those trends are expected to continue.
“The technology
to capture the sun’s energy is getting more efficient and cheaper with every
project we build,” said Harkrader.
“In North Carolina we can now beat the price of electricity from new
nuclear plants.”
Environment North Carolina Research and Policy
Center examined county-by-county potential for installing solar panels. The top counties for solar
roof-potential are: Buncombe, Catawba,
Craven, Cumberland, Durham, Forsyth, Gaston, Guilford, Iredell, Mecklenburg,
New Hanover, Pitt, Wake and Wayne.
Last year North Carolina’s solar installations
grew more than six-fold, catapulting the state to one of the nation’s leaders in
solar power. The state’s growth in
solar power was fueled largely by a 2007 law requiring a certain percentage of
solar power. If all announced
solar power projects are completed, solar capacity will grow another six-fold
by the end of 2010.
“North Carolina is just waking up to its
potential as a leader in the Southeast in solar energy development,” said Steve
Kalland, Exectuive Director of the NC Solar Center. “This project at NC State
and all the new projects being announced are just the tip of the iceberg.”
The Environment North Carolina analysis
assumes a modest growth rate in solar capacity between 2010 and 2030, but new
policies to promote solar power will still be required to achieve 700,000 solar
roofs. The report recommends
reinstating the solar manufacturing tax credit and requiring all of the solar
power mandated in the state’s 2007 law to come from in-state sources.
“North Carolina
has been a bright spot in the Southeast for clean energy,” said Ouzts. “The state can continue to light the
way with new and expanded policies to promote solar energy.”
