This is an op/ed by Thomas Shumaker, state director of Conservatives for Clean Energy North Carolina. He is based in Raleigh.
By Thomas Shumaker
I’ll wager that you believe you should be free to use your private property as you like, so long as it doesn’t hurt your neighbors. That’s true, too, for property owners who want to choose whether to host solar or wind energy projects on their land — adding to the local tax base, creating jobs, and promoting America’s global energy dominance.
The reality is that solar and wind energy benefit the growing number of farming families that embrace them. Clean energy bolsters local communities, promotes rural prosperity, and makes America stronger. North Carolina’s laws and regulatory policies should encourage more of it.
No one has to put solar panels or windmills on their property, of course. But clean energy provides a stable income stream for property owners who choose it, enabling farmers to diversify their income and support their families without selling their land or giving up on agriculture.
Solar leases typically generate $500 to $800 a year per acre. Onshore wind generates $6,000 or more per turbine each year, while preserving farming access underneath. These are long-term, voluntary, dependable revenues shared among private parties — with public benefits, as well.
Local, state benefits
On average, solar investments boost local property tax receipts by eight times over what they had been on the raw land. What’s more, they require no new local spending on roads, water lines, sewers, schools, or public safety. In several northeast North Carolina counties, wind facilities are the largest taxpayers by far, helping to finance vital local government services.
Clean energy projects are subject to strict state and local reviews, including zoning approvals, visual buffers, decommissioning plans, and analyses of potential impacts on military operations.
North Carolina has more than 700 solar projects in operation — all developed with local input to ensure minimal impacts on neighbors and nearby agricultural operations.
A recent national study found that the bases of offshore wind turbines act like artificial reefs, attracting ocean mollusks that promote fishery growth and more abundant seafood harvests. North Carolina needs the more robust fisheries that offshore wind turbines spawn. Commercial and recreational fishers should support them enthusiastically.
National security
Clean energy helps reduce America’s dependence on foreign energy sources. Especially amid the violent turmoil in the Middle East, diversifying our domestic energy mix strengthens the grid for everyone, including in rural counties. You don’t have to oppose nuclear energy or natural gas power plants to support clean energy as well. An all-of-the-above strategy serves America best.
Every new clean energy project brings capital investments, jobs, and tax revenue, all through voluntary private-sector agreements. Our state is a national leader in clean energy deployment, ranking fourth in solar capacity, thanks to future-minded landowners and market-driven growth.
North Carolina also is the proud home of large national military bases that increasingly depend on reliable clean energy. If you support America’s military and its national security, then you should back solar and wind projects as part of a balanced mix of domestic energy sources.
Strong public support
Public support for clean energy is remarkably strong across our state. The 2025 North Carolina Energy Poll found that voters overwhelmingly prefer political candidates who support diversifying our state’s energy sources to include more renewable energy.
The poll also found that the state’s voters strongly support policies to protect consumers, to foster greater energy competition, to keep electricity rates low, and to make America energy-dominant by expanding renewable energy.
Overall, almost three-fourths (72%) of the state’s voters favor candidates who support energy policies that encourage more energy options, the poll found. That includes 55% of Republican voters, 75% of independent voters, and 87% of Democratic voters.
Voter support is even higher for state policies that promote greater energy competition and consumer choice, at 74% overall – including 75% of Republicans, 77% of independents, and 69% of Democrats, the poll found.
Our love of freedom
When it comes to energy policy, North Carolina’s voters show characteristic common sense. They want greater competition, more options, and strong protections for consumers.
Savvy elected officials and candidates will embrace voters’ sensible preferences on something as essential as energy for North Carolina’s hard-working families and businesses.
Meanwhile, our policymakers should take care to ensure that North Carolina respects property rights, attracts private investment, promotes rural prosperity, and supports our national security. Such patriotic pragmatism appeals strongly to the public.
North Carolina was first in freedom. Let’s keep it that way, with more clean energy.
Conservatives for Clean Energy is a Raleigh-based nonprofit that is a partner of the Lansing, Michigan-based Conservative Energy Network, which promotes clean energy in about 25 states. Former N.C. Rep. John Szoka of Fayetteville is CEO of the network. Mark Fleming, a former district director for U.S. Rep. Patrick McHenry, is CEO of the N.C. group.
David Mildenberg is editor of Business North Carolina. Reach him at dmildenberg@businessnc.com.