PWC keeps on the sunny side; Fayetteville City Council approves rezoning request for over 40 acres of land to be used for new solar farm
By Stephanie Meador, posted Sep 24, 2025 on BizFayetteville.com
The prospect of a new solar farm off of Ramsey Street seemed to have faded when the County initially denied Fayetteville Public Works Commission’s rezoning request in May. However, PWC proposed that the Fayetteville City Council annex the solar farm site into the city limit, and this was approved in August. Once that went through and the land was annexed into District 1, PWC was able to go forward with their next move.
PWC spoke before the Fayetteville City Council on Monday, Sept. 22, with the request that a parcel of land totaling approximately 40.5 acres be rezoned from Planned Neighborhood Development (PND, County) to Conditional Community Commercial (CC/CZ, City).
The parcel of land is located at 430 Carvers Falls Road across from ZipQuest Waterfall & Treetop Adventure Park. PWC aims to build a new solar farm on the land. ZipQuest owners and other adjacent landowners opposed this proposal, and voiced their concerns in May and continued to advocate for their side at Monday’s meeting.
The Carvers Fall solar farm represents approximately $9.5M investment in the Fayetteville/Cumberland County community. All solar investments reduce electricity purchased from Duke Energy, resulting in direct customer savings. Carvers Falls Solar Farm is eligible for a 30% federal investment tax credit, saving customers approximately $3 million.
PWC’s goal is to supply 25 Megawatts (MW) of solar energy in the next 10 years or less. The Carvers Fall solar farm is the fifth solar farm in the works for PWC, with two already built and operational and two more in progress.
Despite continued opposition from several parties, Council approved the proposed rezoning.
“I want to thank the Mayor and City Council for their action last night in approving the Carvers Falls Solar Farm zoning appeal that directly benefits over 86,000 residents of Fayetteville who are PWC customers” said Fayetteville Public Works Commission CEO/General Manager Timothy Bryant. “Additionally, I would like to thank the Bryan Family and all our neighbors along Carvers Falls Road for communicating their long-standing commitment to conservation. PWC will do its part to continue to make this area an eco-friendly tourist destination by buffering the solar farm from passersby in every way. PWC is committed to being a great neighbor, while also keeping rates among some of the lowest in the State and we appreciate the Council supporting our efforts.”
An updated construction timeline has not yet been finalized.
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