The NC Clean Energy Technology Center (NCCETC) began the new year with continued efforts to gather balanced input about how best to develop a utility-scale solar and storage model ordinance for local government officials to utilize in their communities. Through the Carolinas Development Assistance & Siting Hub (DASH) project, the Center aims to make these model ordinances available to establish guidelines for large-scale renewable energy developments throughout North Carolina.

On January 9, 2026, the Center held a stakeholder engagement session at the North Carolina Farm Bureau. This session focused specifically on agriculture and land use considerations for utility-scale solar and storage developments in North Carolina. Two previous sessions were held in October and November 2025, in which stakeholders discussed recommendations for model ordinance categories along with considerations related to the impacts that local planning and zoning laws have on future developments.

To kick off the third session, Policy Analyst Cleo Carter introduced NCCETC and the Carolinas DASH project, highlighting the three main efforts of the project: Community Engagement; Resource Development; and Education & Technical Assistance. NC State University Associate Extension Professor Andrew Branan then gave a brief overview of how the NC State Cooperative Extension is involved with the project. Branan explained that the Extension serves as a bridge between agricultural landowners and the rest of the stakeholders. Following his remarks, Branan introduced Steve Woodson, Associate General Counsel at the NC Farm Bureau.

Woodson discussed the priorities of NC Farm Bureau members, specifically their stance on farmland and open space being used for solar development projects. “From our standpoint, people can do what they want with their property. If someone wants to put their land into solar development, we certainly feel that’s something they should be able to do.” On the other hand, Woodson stated that the loss of farmland is a concern for farmers in North Carolina. He expressed an interest in finding out how these two stances can work together to inform local decision makers.

The educational portion of the session then began with an Agrivoltaics Panel featuring Lee Walston, Ecologist at Argonne National Laboratory, and Andrew Weaver, Assistant Professor in the Animal Science department at North Carolina State University.

Walston’s presentation focused on the role “agrivoltaics” and “ecovoltaics” play in optimizing solar energy developments. He defined agrivoltaics as the intentional pairing of PV solar and agricultural practices on the same parcel of land. Ecovoltaics was defined as intentional planting and management of native and naturalized vegetation at PV solar facilities to improve ecosystem function. Walston introduced the National Laboratory of the Rockies-led InSPIRE project, which stands for Innovative Solar Practices Integrated with Rural Economics and Ecosystems. This project provides tools that allow individuals to explore agrivoltaics research, sites and cost-benefits. The project website houses a data portal of comprehensive agrivoltaics research, a dynamic map of agrivoltaic installations in the United States, and a free financial calculator. Walston stated that agrivoltaics and ecovoltaics sites are “all about location.” He says, working lands or previously cleared lands are the places to look first, and that they don’t want to disturb the natural habitat to create clear land. Walston also explained that there is not a “one-size-fits-all” design to these sites that will work everywhere, as developments will vary depending on the region, size, goals, and budget. Walston ended his presentation by saying, “At minimum, we want to make sure we have no net negative impact. We want to leave the land better than it was before.”

Next, Andrew Weaver gave his presentation titled, “Sheep + Solar: The New Age of Lamb Production.” Weaver shared insights about the sheep industry, stating that 2025 was the first time an increase was seen in United States sheep populations. He said one of the biggest challenges to sheep production is land access. Land ownership is expensive, and many new producers that want to begin raising sheep often don’t have the funds to get started. Weaver says, “Solar provides a potential opportunity to pair young producers with land that can be utilized.”

Using land for both sheep and solar development can provide environmental benefits as well as heightened economic opportunities. Weaver explains that sheep naturally fertilize the soil, sequestering carbon and feeding soil microbes. He claimed that ruminant livestock does produce methane, however methane will be converted to carbon dioxide after 12 years. As the sheep sequester carbon, he says this creates a biogenic carbon cycle. On the economic side, Weaver shares that over 70% of the lamb consumed in the United States is imported from overseas. Land used for solar development has the potential to provide thousands of acres for sheep production, in turn creating an abundance of affordable and domestically produced protein.

To end his presentation, Weaver shared photos from NC State University’s new Agrivoltaics Training Site. This site will allow students and solar professionals to gain essential skills for navigating grazed solar sites. NCCETC is holding the Agrivoltaics in Action: Enhancing Operations and Maintenance in Livestock-Integrated Solar Sites training course on June 8, 2026.

Following the agrivoltaics presentations, Walston and Weaver answered questions from stakeholders in the room. CEO of Carolina Solar Energy, Carson Harkrader, addressed the challenges of bringing solar developments to rural communities, as farmers in those areas are hesitant to welcome large-scale developments. She questioned if implementing sheep and solar together would cause individuals to be more willing to allow developments in their communities. Weaver said that permitting discussions in rural areas would need to implement an agrivoltaics plan at the earliest stage, in order to provide the community with clear information about the opportunities that development could bring to their land. NCCETC Executive Director, Steve Kalland, mentioned that this is one of the main reasons the Carolinas DASH team is creating a model ordinance, to help encourage the adoption of practices like agrivoltaics.

Steve Woodson asked if there is any research about moving solar panels to a different parcel of land after a certain amount of time. He said part of the issue that rural communities have with solar installations is the permanence of these developments. He emphasized that restoring the land should be as important as the redevelopment of the land. Kalland appreciated Woodson’s point, and added that the lifespan of a solar installation is about 25-30 years, which could feel like forever to a farmer. Mike Storch, Cypress Creek Renewables, shared that the University of Illinois is looking for partners to expand their research model on modules that move solar arrays around. He said it isn’t scalable at this time, but more research is needed.

After the agrivoltaics discussion, a Land Use Panel addressed the group with another presentation. The panel included Mike Storch, Manager of Programs and Sustainability at Cypress Creek Renewables, Daniel Pate, Director of Engagement at the NC Sustainable Energy Association (NCSEA), and Jerry Carey, Market Intelligence Specialist at NCSEA.

Storch discussed the strong history of solar projects in North Carolina and shared that Cypress Creek has developed solar and storage of all sizes throughout the state. He made a case for utility scale solar, sharing that large systems over 2 MW can help meet energy demand and lower or stabilize energy costs. He said that as of 2025, there are 759 utility scale solar facilities in North Carolina, producing around 7,000 MW. Storch also addressed the uses for residential and commercial and industrial (C&I) solar developments. These developments can serve personal, business, local government, and non-profit needs by lowering energy costs, establishing energy independence, and supporting pollutant free energy, all while only taking up a small footprint.

Daniel Pate and Jerry Carey followed Storch’s presentation by discussing findings from the NC Solar Land Use and Agriculture Study that NCSEA recently conducted. The purpose of the report was to better understand what types of land that utility scale solar installations occupy, along with the total amount of land they occupy. They also aimed to provide statistics on the economic benefits of the solar and agricultural industries in North Carolina. NCSEA pulled from one of their own data sources, the Renewable Energy Database (REDB), which contains information on each utility scale solar installation in the state. Their other sources were the U.S. Geological Survey’s National Land Cover Database (NLCD) and the NC OneMap, which provides satellite imagery to verify installations.

They found that there are 34,012 total acres of utility scale solar on agricultural land, of 40,284 total acres of utility scale solar. The total number of agriculture acres in North Carolina is 10,999,656, out of 31,400,000 total acres in the state. This means that .13% of statewide land is occupied by utility scale solar, and .31% of agricultural land is occupied. Pate says that compared to how much agricultural land is in the state, the percent occupied by utility scale solar is not very high.

The panelists then took questions from the audience. Stakeholders shared that they would like to see the data on which types of soil the installations are developed on. Farmers emphasized that land with important soils are the areas that need to be maintained due to the margins on production. Carey shared that the soils in the state are mapped, and research is being done to add in the layers of where solar developments are located in relation to those soils. Kalland agreed that this study would be beneficial to add transparency to these discussions.

The stakeholders then had a chance to provide feedback to NCCETC on the educational portion of the session. Following their feedback, attendees split up into small groups to discuss strategies that can be included in an ordinance that would encourage dual-use practices and ecosystem services. They also discussed the conflicts and tradeoffs between those strategies and other ordinance features.

One group shared that a specific percentage for either dual use or ecosystem services could be mandated in an ordinance. They said another way is to provide incentives for developers to adopt those services. Woodson added that the department of revenue could provide a handbook to counties for how to interpret present use value laws, as interpretations of agrivoltaics might differ from county to county. Most stakeholders agreed that an incentive program would be very beneficial to help landowners implement dual-use practices or ecosystem services.

Another group shared that it would be difficult to mandate a grazing requirement, especially for a small project that may not have sheep at the site 24/7. Their other idea was for a county to have a policy where they put a percentage of rollback taxes into a farm conservation fund, allowing for a direct tie between approved projects and protecting farmland in the area.

Kalland says, “We want to find mechanisms that encourage the agricultural community to be included in the mutual benefits conversation, or find strategies where the conversation doesn’t need to be had because it is already mutually beneficial.”

NCCETC is thankful to the NC Farm Bureau for hosting the third model ordinance stakeholder engagement session. It is important to work together with farmers and individuals in rural communities to ensure a positive outcome for future developments.

The Carolinas DASH team is hosting three more meetings to assist the creation of the new model ordinance. The next session will focus on the appendices of the model ordinances, and the following two will consist of draft reviews and updates to the ordinance. NCCETC hopes to release the final model ordinance at the end of April 2026.