Renewable Energy
Currently North Carolina imports virtually all of the energy we consume from other states at a cost of at least $10 billion each year. About two thirds of our energy for electricity comes from coal and a third from nuclear. Meanwhile, utilities have proposed building new nuclear and coal plants in the state to meet growing demand for power.
In 2007, the NC General Assembly passed a Renewable and Efficiency Portfolio Standard that requires utilities to provide 12.5% of their power from renewable energy - like solar, wind or biomass - or energy efficiency measures by 2021. This is a huge step forward on North Carolina's path to renewable energy. Unfortunately, the legislation also included provisions that will make it easier for utilities to build conventional power plants by allowing them to pass the costs of construction on to ratepayers before the plants are constructed, or even if they are never built.
The new law also includes set-asides to promote solar technology, burning poultry waste and capturing methane from hog waste. The solar set-aside will be an important boost for that clean technology since it tends to be more expensive. However, advocates and community groups living near hog waste lagoons are concerned that the bill did not require hog farms to capture methane using environmentally cleaner technologies that also address water pollution, air pollution and odor.
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In March, 2008 the NC Utilities Commission adopted rules (pdf) to implement the Renewable and Efficiency Portfolio Standard.
NC Sustainable Energy Association
A Citizen's Guide: The NC Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency Portfolio Standard, NCSEA, 2007.
North Carolina's State Energy Office
NC Utilities Commission - REPS information. Includes link to a report by La Capra on a Renewable Portfolio Standard for NC.
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