How does Sunnyplans rank parcels for solar suitability?

Each parcel gets a SunnyScore from a model trained on the geographic features that distinguish built solar farms from unbuilt land — slope, irradiance, distance to grid infrastructure, and similar signals. Parcels are then filtered to those with at least 5 contiguous flat acres outside protected areas and wetlands, and ranked by SunnyScore.

What does "qualifying parcel" mean in Rutherford County, North Carolina?

A qualifying parcel has at least 5 contiguous flat acres (slope under 5%) and no overlap with federal protected areas or mapped wetlands. 26 of 43 parcels in Rutherford County, North Carolina currently meet that bar.

Solar Land for Sale in Rutherford County, North Carolina

26 of 43 solar-suitable land parcels in Rutherford County, North Carolina. Flat 5+ acres, no protected areas, no wetlands. Ranked by SunnyScore.

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qualifying parcels of 43 total

0.81

top SunnyScore in Rutherford County, North Carolina

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distillate 3 (pending model explainability)

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distillate 4 (pending model explainability)

Interactive map Explore 26 qualifying parcels in Rutherford County, North Carolina Layer-first filtering · SunnyScore ranking · constraint overlays

Top 25 parcels by SunnyScore

#	Acres	$/acre	List price	City	ZIP	SunnyScore
1	3.2	$36,819	$119,522	Rutherfordton	28139	0.81
2	13.3	$20,194	$267,940	Rutherfordton	28139	0.64
3	4.2	$11,397	$47,347	Rutherfordton	28139	0.60
4	7.4	$10,915	$80,360	Mooresboro	28114	0.50
5	3.9	$11,155	$43,250	Rutherfordton	28139	0.46
6	5.4	$18,386	$98,561	Rutherfordton	28139	0.42
7	22.4	$8,084	$180,749	Rutherfordton	28139	0.38
8	5.4	$16,289	$87,731	Ellenboro	28040	0.24
9	2.3	$24,105	$55,943	Ellenboro	28040	0.19
10	14.0	$17,119	$239,418	Ellenboro	28040	0.14
11	59.4	$31,278	$1,858,915	Rutherfordton	28139	0.14
12	19.1	$9,187	$175,734	Rutherfordton	28139	0.11
13	11.4	$12,557	$142,591	Rutherfordton	28139	0.09
14	26.0	$15,851	$412,450	Rutherfordton	28139	0.07
15	3.6	$44,252	$158,181	Rutherfordton	28139	0.06
16	3.7	$13,193	$48,724	Rutherfordton	28139	0.06
17	72.0	$7,229	$520,704	Ellenboro	28040	0.05
18	10.4	$13,123	$136,910	Lake Lure	28746	0.04
19	22.2	$6,095	$135,193	Rutherfordton	28139	0.04
20	3.3	$12,928	$43,104	Lake Lure	28746	0.03
21	2.8	$25,899	$71,956	Lake Lure	28746	0.02
22	6.9	$13,531	$92,794	Bostic	28018	0.02
23	2.3	$23,435	$55,048	Lake Lure	28746	0.01
24	5.5	$30,191	$165,191	Union Mills	28167	0.01
25	17.3	$4,306	$74,693	Bostic	28018	0.00

View all 26 qualifying parcels in the live map →

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