Former North Carolina Governor and Democratic Senate candidate Roy Cooper has seen his campaign dogged by controversy and questions about his policies and governorship. He waged war on North Carolina's school voucher program while sending his daughter to a costly private school, his donor list has an Epstein problem, and he runs from questions about releasing thousands of dangerous criminals, and more than 600 have been charged with serious felonies, including 18 who went on to commit murder.
Now there's another scandal dropping on the Cooper campaign, this time with his dealings with Duke Energy, a Cooper donor, and energy companies like Strata Solar, a company with which Cooper's family reportedly has a land lease.
The story starts in 2019, when WBTV reported that Cooper used a permit for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP) as leverage in a deal between Duke Energy — a major Cooper donor — and solar companies, one that would see Duke Energy purchasing more solar power and likely benefit Cooper himself.
In documents obtained by WBTV, the ACP is a project being developed by Virginia-based Dominion Energy and Duke Energy to bring natural gas from West Virginia, through Virginia, and into southeastern North Carolina. In 2018, Cooper's administration approved a water permit for the pipeline and announced that it had signed a separate memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the ACP that would require a $57.8 million payment into a fund to assist with "economic development" in eastern North Carolina.
But prior to the signing, there was a disagreement between Duke Energy and the solar industry. In the summer of 2017, legislation was passed that intended to increase production and consumption of solar power in North Carolina. That left Duke Energy and the solar companies in a deadlock over a "technical rating that would ... determine how much power the utility would purchase."
While Cooper's office was negotiating the MOU, Duke was working on a separate agreement with solar companies in North Carolina to set terms that would outline how Duke Energy would connect to and purchase power generated by solar farms across the state. WBTV said documents showed Cooper and his senior staff were monitoring the negotiations between Duke Energy and the solar companies while they considered when, and whether or not, Cooper would sign the pipeline MOU.
When asked about this, Cooper said at the time, "All completely separate issues. This issue regarding the disagreement with the renewable industry and the utilities is one that was going on before that issue with the permit and is still going on today." Despite Cooper's remarks, documents and text messages from Cooper's office tell a different story. In one text message, Cooper asks, "Where are the solar boys on their deal?"
In November 2017, a memo from the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality was forwarded to Kristi Jones. That memo outlined "ACP mitigation options," which included increasing the amount of solar purchased by Duke Energy.
In other text messages dated January 1, 2018, the MOU for the pipeline was scheduled to be signed on January 2, 2018. Yet early that morning, Cooper's General Counsel, Will McKinney and Cooper's Senior Adviser, Ken Eudy, texted about whether or not Cooper should sign the MOU, with Eudy writing, "Not sure we should sign ACP agreement unless solar deal works."
Cooper himself also received an email from Markus Wilhelm, CEO of Strata Solar, about the solar company's dispute with Duke Energy. "Any guidance and support (a call to Duke leadership?) you can provide to our industry in this matter is very much appreciated," Wilhelm wrote. In 2016, Wilhelm and Strata Solar Chief Administrative Officer Cathy Wilhelm each gave $5,100 to Cooper’s campaign for governor.
WBTV said it confirmed that Cooper spoke to two solar company CEOs personally, including Wilhelm, and that a third said he had a direct conversation with Cooper on the issue. Wilhelm denied having any personal contact or conversations with Cooper, telling WBTV, "I don't know where you get your information from." Cooper denied the communication as well, saying, "I spoke to a lot of renewable energy leaders, I spoke to legislators, I spoke to utility companies because, guess what, I'm in favor of renewable energy. I want more of it for North Carolina."
Here's where things get even more interesting. Strata Solar leased property from a company that Roy Cooper co-owned with his brother, Pell Cooper, until 2014, when Roy Cooper sold his stake. Cooper and his brother inherited a 40-acre property from their father in Nash County. In 2012, the Coopers created Will Clark Properties LLC, and Cooper was listed as manager of the company and transferred ownership of the 40 acres to the LLC.
According to The Carolina Journal, Will Clark Properties signed a 20-year lease agreement with Strata Solar. That lease went to Nash 58 Farm LLC, a subsidiary of Strata Solar. That agreement, The Carolina Journal reports, is estimated to be worth more than $1 million per year. In 2013, Roy Cooper was listed as the Manager of Will Clark Properties, but was no longer listed as the manager in April 2015.
Instead, his sister-in-law, Meredith Cooper, has been listed as the manager since at least April 2019, and despite Roy Cooper's claims that he divested from the company, the company used a U.S. Postal Service mailbox that was also Cooper's personal mailbox. Will Clark Properties also shares a mailing address with companies managed by Roy Cooper, including Barrel Rider Properties LLC, Sapony Creek Properties LLC, and Sunset Executive Building LLC.
As Cooper himself told WBTV, he's a supporter of renewable energy, and he pushed Green New Deal policies during his term as governor, both of which benefited Duke Energy and Cooper's land lease. On January 7, 2022, Cooper signed Executive Order 246, which requires a 50 percent reduction in North Carolina's greenhouse gas emissions from 2005 levels by 2030 and net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. In that order, Cooper "underscores the importance of emphasizing environmental justice and equity in the state's transition to a clean economy." Shortly after, the North Carolina Utilities Commission released its Consolidated Carbon Plan and Integrated Resource Plan (CPIRP), directing Duke Energy to reduce carbon emissions by 70 percent from 2005 levels by 2030 and the same 2050 net-zero goal.
The CPIRP directs Duke Energy to increase solar production by retiring the remaining coal-fired units by 2036, conducting two competitive solar procurements between 2025 and 2026 to generate 3,460 MW of solar energy that will be placed into service by 2031, obtaining 1,100 MW of battery storage (including 475 MW of standalone storage and 652 MW of battery energy storage) paired with solar generation, and the procurement of 1,200 MW of onshore wind for commercial operation by 2033.
Cooper insists these were all “completely separate issues.” But the emails, text messages, donor relationships, and business ties tell a far more complicated story — one in which North Carolina energy policy, political influence, and private financial interests appear to overlap in ways voters may find difficult to ignore. Maybe it’s a giant coincidence. Maybe Duke Energy’s negotiations, Cooper’s pipeline leverage, the solar industry lobbying campaign, Strata Solar’s ties to Cooper family property, and the governor’s aggressive green-energy agenda all just happened to align perfectly. Cooper is certainly free to make that argument. Voters are free to decide whether they believe it.
Editor’s Note: The 2026 Midterms will determine the fate of President Trump’s America First agenda. Republicans must maintain control of both chambers of Congress.
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