Solar projects provide numerous benefits to the communities in which they are sited. Solar projects represent significant local investments and drive meaningful increases in the local taxable property base. Solar projects also provide guaranteed annual property tax payments to local taxing jurisdictions, which allow county and local officials to make long-term financial plans and increase spending on public services and other critically important infrastructure.

Large-scale solar projects pay millions of dollars per year directly to landowners through lease and easement agreements, resulting in a diversified revenue stream that protects against fluctuating commodity prices and preserves family properties for future generations. In addition, these projects directly create hundreds of full-time equivalent jobs during the construction and installation phases and also support indirect and induced jobs during development and construction.

Yes. Solar power is now one of the cheapest sources of new electricity in most of the world due to declining equipment costs, improved technologies, and public policies which support the generation and use of renewable energy.

In the last decade, the cost to install solar has dropped by more than 40%. According to Lazard’s Levelized Cost of Energy Analysis – Version 17.0 (2024), even without tax credits, new solar resources have a levelized cost of energy in the range of 2.9¢/kWh – 9.2¢/kWh for large-scale solar. This range falls below the levelized cost of energy for new coal or gas combined cycle power production.  These results have been bolstered by the International Energy Agency’s World Energy Outlook 2025, which found that “Solar PV and wind are now the cheapest sources of electricity in most markets.”

Adding to their growing appeal, solar projects are uniquely able to sell their electricity output at a fixed price over the life of the project because the “fuel” is free and not subject to increases in commodity fuel prices.

While producing electricity with photovoltaics emits no pollution, produces no greenhouse gas emissions, and uses no finite fossil fuel resources, it has been argued that solar power has a hidden carbon footprint due to solar panel manufacturing and project construction. Both fossil fuel and non-fossil fuel power technologies induce life-cycle greenhouse emissions that stem from the energy requirements for their construction and operation. Known as a “carbon debt,” this debt of energy must be paid off to calculate how solar projects reduce emissions over their lifetime. A typical utility-scale solar project—like the Lightwood Power Project—repays its carbon debt in roughly 12 months or less, providing decades of zero emission energy.

When sited and developed properly, the installation of a solar facility will have minimal impacts on wildlife in the area. In fact, studies show that solar facilities can provide shelter for species, promote land stability, preserve habitat, and support biodiversity.

Natural resource assessments are being conducted on the Lightwood Power Project site to determine presence, if any, of federally- or state-listed species and critical habitat. The results of the assessments will be shared with state and federal regulatory agencies and consultation will be conducted as needed.

The project will include the planting of a site-specific native seed mix containing a wide variety of native grasses and pollinator species common to the region. By incorporating native plant species throughout the project area, it is expected that the project will contribute to soil health and fertility, wildlife habitat, and forage areas.

The construction of the Lightwood Power Project will not require toxic chemicals or processes. PV panels typically consist of glass, aluminum, copper, silver, and semiconductor materials that can be successfully recovered and reused. Because the PV panel materials are enclosed and do not mix with water or vaporize into the air, there is little-to-no risk of chemicals, including greenhouse gases, being released into the environment during normal use. Crystalline silicon PV panels, an extremely common panel variant used around the world, “do not pose a material risk of toxicity to public health and safety.”

In addition, to provide decades of corrosion-free operation, panels like the ones that will be used for the Lightwood Power Project, are encapsulated from air and moisture between two layers of plastic. The encapsulation layers are further protected with a layer of tempered glass on the front and a polymer sheet on the back. For decades, this same material has been used between layers of tempered glass to give car windshields and hurricane windows their great strength, allowing them to stay intact even if damage occurs.

The Lightwood Power Project will use a solar panel tracking system, allowing the reflective surfaces to align with the sun as it moves across the sky. Therefore, due to continuous tilt, water will not collect on the panels during rainstorms. The rainwater that runs off the panels is absorbed into the ground, nurturing vegetation located under the panels. All stormwater on the site will be managed by a stormwater management system per North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality guidelines, which will be protective of local water quality.

Examining property values across the United States demonstrates that large-scale solar projects like the Lightwood Power Project have no measurable impact on the value of the adjacent properties, and in some cases, may even have positive effects. Studies also show that proximity to solar projects does not deter the sales of agricultural or residential land.