RALEIGH (AP) -- A small panel of North Carolina legislators is studying whether to make it easier for thousands of renewable energy units to crop up on rooftops or in backyards.

The state House committee meets Thursday at the General Assembly in Raleigh. The committee and researchers are studying whether it makes sense to allow anyone who owns or operates a renewable energy unit like solar panels to sell the electricity they generate.

The North Carolina Sustainable Energy Association says the policy is already in place in at least 20 states, but this is one of just four states that prohibit it.

One major obstacle being considered is whether the owner of a renewable energy facility must be regulated as a public utility like Duke Energy or Progress Energy.

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