As part of the continuing effort to gather local feedback on solar development opportunities for landowners, and how these may impact local land use, the environment and the economy, the NC Clean Energy Technology Center (NCCETC) in partnership with N.C. Cooperative Extension is holding a series of listening sessions across North and South Carolina.
One of the sessions coming up is in Granville County on March 6. The registration link for this and other local input workshops is here. The Granville County session will be held at the Granville County Convention & Expo Center Auditorium, 4185 US Highway 15 South, Oxford, NC 27565. The session runs from 6pm to 7:15pm.
This local input series is part of a comprehensive project funded by the US Department of Energy on assisting communities with proper siting of utility-scale solar facilities. As part of that effort, NCCETC launched the Carolinas Development Assistance and Siting Hub (C-DASH), which will host a growing list of resources to aid local communities.
Regarding the Granville Co and other meetings, please note: these local input meetings are not tied to specific solar project proposals, and are not advocacy in favor of the use of surface land for solar energy development. Rather, this is a neutral public input gathering effort by North Carolina State University to develop resources that ensure that communities are informed with research-backed information on the benefits and impacts of utility-scale solar development. This type of development is an investment-backed agreement between site developer and landowner which requires a zoning permit. As North Carolina county elected-officials continue to address such requests for siting permits, the impact of citizen input - via their statutorily-mandated role in such public discussions - legally depends on the quality of such input. North Carolina law - supported by court opinions on past permit approval cases - informs us that counties must rely on cogent evidence either in favor or opposition to project approvals.
