News

NCGA investigators sought document linking solar developer to Cooper

In response to a public records request, a document Gov. Roy Cooper said was an email appears to be something else. The document, one of more than 20,000 pages disclosed in December 2018 responding to media inquiries about the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, indicates a potential crossover between Cooper’s personal business interests and his official duties....

Don Carrington
News

Judge Cooper’s wife now listed as manager of family’s solar property

Meredith Cooper, Gov. Roy Cooper’s sister-in-law, has been listed since April as manager of the company that owns the Cooper family’s Nash County solar farm property. That’s when Meredith filed an annual report with the N.C. Secretary of State. Meredith Cooper’s husband is Pell Cooper, a District Court judge. Pell and Roy Cooper are brothers....

Don Carrington
News

Solar energy output ratings misleading if not deceptive, critics say

In its application to build a solar facility on Gov. Roy Cooper’s Nash County property, Durham-based Strata Solar said its generating capacity would be about 5 megawatts. Enough energy to power continuously about 3,750 homes. But the plant won’t generate 5 MW of energy 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Much of the time...

Dan Way
News

Governor’s brother manages businesses, in possible violation of judicial code

District Court Judge Pell Cooper, Gov. Roy Cooper’s brother, manages three businesses — a potential violation of state judicial rules designed to prevent conflicts of interest by judges. In 2009, state officials forced another district court judge who refused to leave two corporate boards to resign from the bench. [See editor’s note at end of...

Don Carrington
News

Management of Cooper solar farm property hard to trace

Tracing the ownership of the land hosting a Nash County solar farm built on a former cow pasture is complicated business.  [Editor’s note: The headline of this story was changed to reflect new information from Judge Pell Cooper. See correction below.] On his Statement of Economic Interest covering 2014, then-Attorney General Roy Cooper, in November...

Don Carrington

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