Wind and solar energy is a potential area of development for North Carolina, a renewable energy expert said during a talk in Wilmington this week.

John LaSala, a retired physicist and technology commercialization consultant who developed a course on renewable energy for the U.S. Military Academy, spoke to an audience that was interested in learning about advances in alternative energy sources with an eye to potentially investing in the industries.

LaSala’s talk, presented by Pathfinder Wealth Consulting and held at the Cape Fear Country Club on Tuesday, focused on wind and solar energy as being the most promising to develop commercially in the state. Both types of energy are broadly used in Europe and are becoming much bigger sources of energy in Asia, he said. And both show great promise in North Carolina, he said.

LaSala pointed several tracts off the North Carolina coast that the federal government has identified for possible wind farm leases. He also cited Duke Energy’s recent announcement that it will spend $500 million to develop solar farms in the state, as part of the utility’s effort to meet its renewable energy goals.

“Wind [energy development] will continue to grow in the U.S., even with the expiration of the federal Production Tax Credits as [the industry] approaches so-called grid parity – meaning the energy generated by a utility-scale wind farm can compete economically with that generated by new conventional power plants,” LaSala said in a phone interview Wednesday. “While offshore wind farms are more costly to build and maintain, that is where the wind blows most steadily – without physical interference – and has the greatest speed.”

Speed is absolutely the most important factor in generating energy from wind, he said. And, in terms of efficiency, the bigger the turbine, the better. In his presentation, LaSala noted that the largest turbines have blades that are as long as a football field.

Solar panels, on the other hand, can be small and even portable, he said.

“Solar panel systems can be operated in smaller units, ranging from residential rooftops to large solar farms like those planned by Duke Energy for North Carolina,” Sala said, explaining that while solar power still requires state and federal incentives to make it economically feasible to developers and homeowners, costs are dropping as more panels are being manufactured and as solar companies become vertically integrating, offering a range of services from installation to financing.

One driver of solar sales is third-party ownership, in which a solar developer essentially rents a building’s roof and installs a solar system. A portion of the energy generated is sold on an agreed-upon rate to the homeowner or business and the remainder is sold to a utility.

“There are highly innovative solar companies out there executing this vision,” LaSala said. “Most of the action has been out West where aggressive state renewable energy mandates, high local electricity prices and plentiful natural resources support growth in the solar industry. We in North Carolina will ultimately benefit as the costs are driven down as these vertically integrated companies expand.”

LaSala’s presentation showed that growth in the wind and solar industries in Europe has begun to plateau, as government incentives – more successful than anticipated in spurring development – taper off. While these alternative sources of energy will remain popular in Europe, growth potential is now greatest in Asia – primarily in China – as well as in the U.S. and Brazil. Chinese companies have also begun to dominate the market in many parts of the world.

“As an investor, you want to see where the potential for growth is,” he said.

To find out more about potential plans for offshore energy projects, read the Business Journal Sept. 26 edition, which includes a special section about a number of energy issues affecting southeastern North Carolina.