BETHEL, N.C. (WNCT) Pitt County commissioners recently approved a permit for contractors to build a solar farm.

SunEnergy1 a top 5 U.S solar developer is leading this effort. The company is based in Bethel and will fund the cost of this new solar farm.

This project will soon become a source of tax revenue for the county. Construction of the nearly 950-acre solar farm will take place near the intersection of NC 30 and NC 11.

Approximately 2/3 of the solar farm is in Bethel’s jurisdiction and the other 1/3 is in the county.

“It also will come along with some different types of treatment that will make it blind in the community a little bit better. So you don’t any of the glare. You don’t see a lot of the issues with the inverters and the panels because of some of the screening and buffering,” said James Rhodes, Pitt County Planning Director

SunEnergy1 also completed the Bethel Price Solar Facility in Pitt County back in 2013.

Through Dominion Power NC, it generates enough clean solar energy to power a thousand homes.

“This has been seen as something that is a positive here in North Carolina, statewide. This is certainly not the first solar farm that we’re had developed in our community and from all accounts, this is a good renewable source of energy,” said Rhodes.

There’s no official word on how long construction will take however they’re hoping to start next month.