In February of 2025, just months after Tropical Storm Helene devastated the North Carolina mountains and destroyed entire livelihoods, Chris McKendree stood in front of a congregation at the Burnsville Town Center and made a promise to “put jobs in the community” and “money in the banks,” with his latest business venture, Paradigm Energy and Storage.
Wearing khaki shorts and a University of Florida football hoodie, McKendree presented himself as a down-to-Earth businessman from Fernandina Beach, Florida — a son of a shrimper and an entrepreneur interested in clean energy that would “change the world.” In 2024, prior to Helene, he came to the Yancey County Board of Commissioners with a proposition to build a headquarters and manufacturing facility in Burnsville for Florida-based Paradigm.
McKendree said the project would involve a $175 million investment and create 150 good-paying jobs by the end of 2027 in one of North Carolina’s most remote mountain counties. County commissioners were convinced by the proposal, and in turn they agreed to give McKendree a 84.5-acre parcel of land to build on, valued at $2.6 million, for free…