ONSLOW COUNTY -- The first innovative landfill solar panel project in North Carolina is coming to Onslow County.

The project will generate revenue by placing 6,000 solar panels on top of 15 acres that was an old landfill.

County officials began a Solid Waste Renewable Energy Program at the Onslow County Landfill in 2012.

A Landfill Gas to Energy Plant was built at no cost to the county.

Now, the second phase of the Solid Waste Renewable Energy Program begins with solar panels.

"We were riding around and saw this big piece of land and we said it's perfect for solar panels because it's facing southwest, it's flat and the size is just right," said Solid Waste Director Scott Bost.

This solar panel project is the first of its kind in North Carolina.

"It's the first of it's kind in the state because no one has ever done a solar panel installation on a closed landfill," said Bost.

Energy from the Landfill Gas to Energy building will meet with solar panel energy and be distributed through an interconnector. The interconnector will then feed the energy through power lines and into homes and businesses powered by Duke Energy.

The project will be built at no cost to tax payers.

Enerdyne Power out of Charlotte is the project developer.

The company will receive the majority of the profits, but has to pay an annual $10,000 least to Onslow County.

Onslow County will receive a profit, but it's unknown at this time how much the profit will be.

"It will be profitable but to what degree we won't know until we have a couple months of actually online, so we know how much energy we're able to produce out of the solar panels," said Commissioner Chairman Barbara Ikner.

State and local leaders are excited to see the project come to life.

"All 99 other counties are looking to us to set the path as to how we can make this profitable for our citizens," said Ikner.

"The sun isn't going anywhere. Landfill gas will be generated for 30, 40 years down the road," said Bost.

Project construction is scheduled to start late this summer.

Bost says it's uncertain at this time when it will be finished.