There is a roadmap to wealth building with clean energy.

It Starts In Enfield.

Energy independence unlocks local creativity, economic resilience, and self-determination.
The sun, wind, and land offer that opportunity.

Enfield, North Carolina (population 2,000) sits in the heart of the Black Belt, a region that has watched its wealth leave for generations. Dollars paid to distant utilities flow out. Young people follow.

But what remains is extraordinary: abundant solar resource, fertile land, and a community ready to build something fundamentally different. Enfield Energy Futures is proving that the clean energy transition can empower and enrich rural America.

We are developing a diversified renewable energy infrastructure, one that 1) lowers household energy burden, 2) modernizes aging grid infrastructure, 3) trains local residents for clean energy jobs, 4) anchors a solar + storage resilience hub and 5) positions the town for energy self-generation within a decade.

This is a model that other small towns across the South can follow. This isn't charity. It's a proof of concept, and it starts here.

What We’re Building

Enfield's municipal utility gives us something most towns don’t: the legal ability to own our own power. We're developing solar and battery storage that the town itself controls, keeping energy revenue in the community instead of sending it to distant shareholders.

Community-Owned Energy Infrastructure

The energy transition needs workers. We're training Enfield's residents for the jobs that come with it: solar installation, battery maintenance, energy efficiency — at wages that build household wealth, not just fill a shift.

Local Workforce & Economic Development

Enfield isn't the only small town watching its wealth leave. What we build here becomes a blueprint: proof that communities of 2,000 people can lead the energy transition and capture its economic benefits. If it works in Enfield, it can work anywhere.

A Replicable Model for the Rural South

2,000

residents of Enfield, NC

87%

Black population in a region shaped by century of extraction

$28M

community wealth retained when energy infrastructure is locally owned

proof of concept that can change the rural South

1

How It Works

The Enfield Wealth Retention Model

The Old Model

Residents pay electric bills. Money flows to investor-owned utilities. Profits leave the region. Wealth extraction continues.

The Enfield Model

Residents pay electric bills. Revenue stays with the municipal utility. Savings fund local jobs and infrastructure. Wealth stays home.

The same kilowatt-hour. The same monthly bill. But when the community owns the infrastructure, every dollar works differently.

PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS

Meet the Movement

  • W. Mondale Robinson

    Mayor of Enfield

  • Nick Jimenez

    Senior Attorney, SELC

  • Hannah Klaus

    Associate Attorney, SELC

  • Jerome Cox

    Senior VP, Sustainable Capital Advisors

  • William Munn

    Principal, The Alluvial

  • Helen Whiteley

    Design Climate, Duke University

  • Brian McAdoo

    Associate Professor of Earth and Climate Science, Duke University

  • Ashley Hillard

    Moms Clean Air Force

“After working with the coalition and learning about what solar and renewable energy could do for my community, I felt liberated, I felt inspired. I feel like we can accomplish anything”

Bobby Whitaker, Enfield Town Commissioner


Every dollar funds the infrastructure, training, and planning that makes Enfield's energy future real.

We're seeking foundation and institutional partners for a proof of concept with national implications. Let's talk.