A messy 89-82 win ends UNC men’s basketball three-game exhibition schedule
Read The DTH’s special Faith Hedgepeth trial print edition
In Chapel Hill, access to clean energy often depends less on your environmental values than on whether you own a roof.
As a student at Chapel Hill, I pass buildings powered sustainably every day. But the gap is hard to ignore: many of the people who need lower energy bills the most, like students, renters and working families, are least likely to benefit from rooftop solar. 
According to the United States Census Bureau, only 47.4 percent of Chapel Hill’s occupied housing units are owner-occupied ⁠— yet, most clean-energy policies assume that people own their own homes. Renters often cannot install solar panels because they do not own their rooftops and even if they have the authority to do so, rooftop solar does not work for buildings that are too old or lack enough space for solar panels. According to UNC sustainability staff, even if every suitable rooftop on campus were covered with solar panels, it would provide only about 5 percent of the University’s total energy demand. 
There is also a problem: the incentives do not align. Property owners have to pay for the installation, but tenants are the ones who get to save money. So why would property owners want to invest? This split incentive problem has slowed down the use of solar energy in rental homes all over the country.
However, the solution already exists: Community Solar. 
Community Solar lets multiple families share one solar project and receive electricity bill credits without installing rooftop panels. These credits reduce the amount participants pay on their electricity bills. This model directly addresses the barriers faced by renters ⁠— it does not rely on rooftop ownership, circumvents structural constraints, and, most importantly, gives access to people who have been excluded for a long time. 
Research shows that community solar can reach renters and low-income households more effectively than rooftop solar. But policy design is crucial, because renters could still be left behind if programs are not properly designed. Therefore, electricity savings must be accessible to renters and low-income households, bill credits must be clearly explained and joining or leaving a program must be simple and transparent. 
Chapel Hill has already taken steps toward clean energy, but current policies still favor those who own property. That is not only inefficient, but also inequitable.
This matters because energy policy is not just about abstract climate targets, but affects real households, real monthly bills and whether ordinary residents can participate in the town’s clean-energy future. For students, renters and working families facing high living costs, bill credits and cleaner power can make daily life more affordable while helping Chapel Hill move toward its climate goals.
We can do better. Local leaders should expand access to community solar programs and
prioritize renters and students in their design. They need to work with utilities, developers and UNC to create accessible, affordable and scalable projects. This is not just about solar panels, but about who gets to participate in the energy transition. If Chapel Hill wants a sustainable future, renters, students and working families must be part of it.
Clean energy should not depend on whether you own a roof, but on whether you are part of the community.
— Ningxi Li, UNC sophomore studying Business Administration and Economics 

source