By John Murawski
The thicket of aluminum crossbars, rising shoulder high and gleaming in the sunlight, could easily fill several football fields. In less than two months, this geometrical framework sprouting in Chatham County will be covered by an indigo meadow of solar panels.
With projects like this and bigger ones in the works, 3-year-old Strata Solar has rapidly become the state’s dominant developer of solar power. The Chapel Hill company has designed or proposed more sunshine-to-electricity projects than any of the state’s estimated 75 solar developers and installers.
Strata Solar plans 15 industrial-scale solar farms for completion this year – including three in Wake and Chatham counties – each with a power capacity of about 5 megawatts. Strata Solar executives are closing in on a deal that would be the state’s biggest solar farm, at about 20 megawatts.
