658th largest plant in North Carolina · 8379th nationally
Lotus is a solar power plant in North Carolina with a nameplate capacity of 4.0 MW. It generates roughly 6.8k MWh per year — enough to power about 646 average U.S. homes.
Its capacity factor of 19% reflects intermittent or peaking operation.
| Plant Name | Lotus |
|---|---|
| Operator | Cypress Creek Renewables |
| City | Elon |
| County | Guilford County |
| State | North Carolina |
| ZIP | 27244 |
| Coordinates | 36.13621, -79.53957 |
This plant highlighted in navy-ringed pin; other generators within 25 miles shown as fuel-colored dots.
| ID | Technology | Fuel | Capacity | Status | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1305 | Solar Photovoltaic | Solar | 4.0 MW | Operating | 2014 |
| NERC Region | SERC |
|---|---|
| Balancing Authority | Duke Energy Carolinas |
Utility-scale solar farms convert sunlight directly into electricity using photovoltaic panels. They produce zero direct emissions and have no fuel cost, but generation is variable — peaking at midday and falling to zero at night. Capacity factors typically run 18–28% in good locations.