NO. CAROLINA: 1ST NEW ENERGY WIN IN SOUTH?

North Carolinians are taking the fight to the enemy and the enemy is the utilities!

Energy savings could be new N.C. law
John Murawski, June 19, 2007 (Raleigh News & Observer via Charlotte Observer)

WHO
North Carolina Senate committee on Agriculture, Environment and Natural Resources
state Rep. Pricey Harrison, Dem., Michael Shore, senior air policy analyst, Environmental Defense.

WHAT
The committee will debate a proposal for a state Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS), a mandate for the state to obtain 12.5% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2015.
Southern Company estimates of electricity costs (cents/kilowatt-hour): biomass can be competitive

WHEN
The debate will be June 21 and the committee could vote by the weekend. The proposal has been negotiated for 5 months.

WHERE
North Carolina

WHY
- Besides requiring 12.5% of electricity from renewables by 2015, the RPS places limits on costs to households: no more than $10/year in 2008 and rising to a maximum of $34/year in 2015.
- The US Senate is considering a more demanding RPS this week of 15% renewables by 2020. The federal would defer to stronger standards in the states but supercede weaker ones.
- The Edison Electric Institute, which represents Progress Energy and Duke Energy in No. Carolina, opposes the national RPS legislation, as does the No. Carolina Utilities Commission and the Southeastern Association of Utilities Commissioners. But Progress and Duke back the state’s proposal because it is weaker and has compromises giving them assistance for financing new plants.
- No. Carolina environmentalists back the state version because it requires solar energy, swine waste and poultry droppings and prevents the utilities from avoiding energy development through the purchase of credits from other states. State enevironmentalists lobbied hard to get the 12.5% level and to impose requirements on the powerful utilities.
No. Carolina wind -- it doesn't have to be everywhere in the state to be a viable resource (click to enlarge)

QUOTES
- Harrison: "It's a renewable energy bill, and they've got all these provisions in there that are making it easier to build new nuclear and coal-fired plants…That's seems unfortunate."
- Shore: "We are close…It's an amazing thing."