North Carolina state representative John Szoka has become a champion of solar energy, but the conservative Republican did not always feel that way.

He used to believe solar was unproven, expensive and dependent on taxpayer money. But a lobbyist inspired him to do some research of his own. He found that solar estimates usually include building costs, such as the panels and the connection to the grid. But fossil fuel estimates typically do not include infrastructure.

SZOKA: “So what you’re doing is comparing apples to oranges. And I saw that, and I dug deeper into it, and the numbers show that renewables can, in fact, pay for themselves.”

But then he realized that legal reforms are needed to open up North Carolina’s solar markets. So last year he authored a bill to allow companies to own and operate solar panels on a customer’s property. Instead of selling the power to the utility, the company would charge the customer directly, at a lower price, for the electricity.

With that approach, industry and the military, including Fort Bragg, which is in Szoka’s district, could meet their renewable energy goals more affordably.

SZOKA: “If we can have cleaner air, cleaner water, and more sustainable energy, what’s not to like about that in a free market economy?”

Reporting credit: Pam Memmott/ChavoBart Digital Media.

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