BISCOE - Utilities partnering with third-party renewable energy providers benefit North Carolina in the long term, U.S. Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., said on a tour Monday at Montgomery Solar Farm with several state lawmakers and business representatives.

Affordably priced energy will attract additional jobs and investment to the state, Burr said. That’s because “energy cost is the number one contributor to manufacturing costs today globally,” he said.

The 120-acre solar farm east of Charlotte is expected to generate 40,000 megawatt hours of electricity each year starting in November, said Joel Olsen, co-founder of Cornelius-based O2 Energies EMC, the company that owns and operates the 20-megawatt project.

Duke Energy will buy electricity and renewable energy credits produced at the farm for 15 years at 6.5 cents per kilowatt hour, Olsen said. The state’s average electricity retail price is 9.15 cents per kilowatt hour, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

For Montgomery County, the solar farm will bring in $100,000 in annual property tax, compared with $500 per year when it was a traditional farm, Olsen said.