News & Observer

A proposed 80-megawatt solar farm in Cumberland County would be North Carolina’s biggest to date if the $144 million project is approved by the N.C. Utilities Commission.

The Hope Mills solar farm was proposed this week by Innovative Solar Systems, a 3-year-old company in Fletcher that is developing more than 600 megawatts of solar farms to connect with Duke Energy’s power grid. The 450-acre project will be located on a site owned by Barker Gallberry Farms under a long-term lease for 20 years, with two 5-year extension options.