The town of Hillsborough and Orange County have turned the holy grail of environmentalism into official public policy. They want to transform into 100 percent renewable energy-powered communities. But beyond the attention-grabbing headlines, and a 2050 deadline, details matter. Would sprawling, utility-scale solar power plants be built, and where would they go? Would homeowners be...
From Carolina Journal Radio Program No. 742: Two N.C. State University researchers say the university has silenced them because they’ve raised concerns about potential negative impacts from utility-scale solar energy projects in North Carolina. In a Carolina Journal exclusive, Associate Editor Dan Way has documented evidence of the university’s efforts to downplay the researchers’ work.
Two N.C. State University researchers say the university has silenced them because they’ve raised concerns about potential negative impacts from utility-scale solar energy projects in North Carolina. In a Carolina Journal exclusive, Associate Editor Dan Way has documented evidence of the university’s efforts to downplay the researchers’ work. North Carolina has attracted national attention in...
Dan Way, Carolina Journal associate editor, discusses two N.C. State University researchers who say the university has silenced them because of their views about solar energy’s impact. Way offered these comments during an interview with Donna Martinez for Carolina Journal Radio.
From Carolina Journal Radio Program No. 736: As N.C. state government continues to consider policies that benefit the solar energy industry, residents of one Beaufort County community are fighting a proposed 600-acre solar facility planned near a local school. Rick Henderson, Carolina Journal editor-in-chief, explains why people in Terra Ceia are raising concerns about the...
Jeanne Van Staalduinen teaches at Terra Ceia Christian School in Beaufort County. Four generations of her family have been involved with the modest school, tucked neatly in an austere wedge of this historic slice of North Carolina, about 18 miles east of Washington. It’s a place not far from where the Pungo and Pamlico rivers...
Julie Morgan saw the environmental hazard in her Moore County hometown created by yesteryear’s textile mill technology, and she saw the industrial materials that supported it. She hopes the contaminated remnants of the crumbled Robbins Silk Mill lead to preventive studies on what advocates hail as an industry of tomorrow — the solar installation boom....
Ron Heiniger isn’t afraid to get his hands dirty. He has spent years as a crop and soil scientist helping hard-pressed farmers to get maximum yield and quality from their crops. The N.C. State Cooperative Extension Service professor says it’s his calling in life. These days Heiniger, who works at the Vernon G. James Research...
Large solar projects haven’t been a good deal for Currituck County residents, says Bobby Hanig, the county commission’s chairman. The developers “have consistently tried to go back on what has been agreed upon in open meetings, and brought on extra work for county staff to ensure they are doing what is asked of them,” he...
North Carolina has no plan for disposing of millions of tons of material from solar installations dotting the state. Rep. Jimmy Dixon, R-Duplin, has asked the legislature to study the environmental safety issues associated with closing the facilities. House Bill 319 is set for a vote Wednesday on the House floor. As Dixon presented the...
RALEIGH — North Carolina has no environmental rules for shutting down solar projects safely, state officials say, and may lack sufficient facilities to dispose of the glass, steel, industrial lubricants, and toxic elements after solar panels in the state’s expanding solar industry reach the end of their useful lives. State Rep. Jimmy Dixon, R-Duplin, says some solar developers require property owners to cover the costs of disposal and land reclamation after the panels become ineffective.
