As of August 2022, a collaborative of local governments is sponsoring a new program called Solarize the Triangle. Visit solarizethetriangle.com for more information.
If you want to go solar and there is no active Solarize program in your area, check out our Tips for Going Solar to learn how you can go ahead on your own.
If you want to start a Solarize program in your area, feel free to contact us with questions. Here are a couple of other resources to get you started:
- Solar Crowdsource, the organization Asheville-Buncombe is using as a platform for its program
- The Solarize Guidebook, published by the US Department of Energy
- Planning and Implementing a Solarize Initiative, published by the Clean Energy States Alliance
Past NC programs
Several organizations have sponsored Solarize programs in North Carolina since 2013. See the table below for the results of these programs and read more at the links provided here:
NC WARN programs
Solarize the Triangle (2016) (operated jointly with NextClimate)
Solarize Western Wake (2015)
Solarize Chatham (2014 and 2015)
Solarize Durham (2014 and 2015)
Solarize Triad (2015)
NextClimate programs
Solarize Carrboro, Orange County, Chapel Hill and Hillsborough, 2014-2015.
Other programs
A total of 729 systems were installed during Solarize Asheville-Buncombe (2020-2021), amounting to 1.44 MW.
Solarize Sandhills 2015 served homeowners in the South River Membership Cooperative and Duke Services areas of Eastern Cumberland County. Another Solarize Sandhills program will open up in Fall 2016. Contact: Denise Bruce, Sustainable Sandhills, Greenaction@sustainablesandhills.org, 910-726-5745.
Solarize Cabarrus 2015 was open to residents of Cabarrus County and the entire Charlotte metro area. Look for Solarize Cabarrus NC on Facebook and @SolarCabarrusNC on Twitter. For more information, email SolarizeCabarrusNC@gmail.com or call 704-877-3723.
Clean Energy for Us was a program that combined Solarize with free energy efficiency audits. In 2014 and 2015, they ran programs in Raleigh and Western North Carolina. They also partnered with NC WARN in 2015 to add energy efficiency to NC WARN’s Solarize Triad program.
Solarize Charlotte was sponsored by the Cleaner is Cheaper coalition of nonprofits in 2014.
The Blue Ridge Sustainability Institute ran Solarize Asheville in 2013 — the first Solarize program in the state.
