April 18, 2016
Sue Sturgis
The North Carolina Utilities Commission ruled against a nonprofit that installed solar panels on the roof of a Greensboro church and sold it the power, saying the project violates the state’s private monopoly utility system.
Last June, the Durham-based climate watchdog group NC WARN began selling electricity to Faith Community Church, a largely African-American congregation in Greensboro, to recoup the cost of the 5.2 kilowatt photovoltaic system it had installed there. At the same time, NC WARN asked the NCUC for a declaratory ruling to clarify state policy on third-party sales. The group argues it wasn’t acting as a utility but rather providing no-money-down financing for the church’s purchase of the panels. Read more
