Lornizo Joyner, an 11-year veteran of the NC Utilities Commission, is retiring at the end of year, according to the Charlotte Business Journal.

"I decided it was just time," said Joyner, who has worked for the state for 37 years, including a stint with the state’s utility customer advocate, the Public Staff of the Commission, the Business Journal reported.

Her one regret, she told the Journal, is that she will not be a part of the final decision on Duke Energy’s pending $26 billion merger with Progress Energy. "That’s a fascinating case,” she told the newspaper. "But there’s always going to be an interesting case. You just have to pick your time and go."

News of her departure came as the final public hearing for Duke Energy’s now 7.2% rate increase started Monday.

NC Sustainable Energy Association staff members Paul Quinlan and Rich Crowley appeared on "OPEN/net," a statewide TV call-in program that facilitates conservations between viewers and policy makers and experts. Joining them on the panel were Maria Kingery, co-Founder and President of Southern Energy Management (also Chair of NCSEA's Board of Directors) and Brad Luyster, the Vice President and Director of ABB's new "Smart Grid Center of Excellence," which opened earlier this month.

The show, which aired live, Tuesday, November 29 at 8 p.m., focused on North Carolina's growing clean energy economy. Click here to view an archived copy of the show.

FLS Energy has a new home. The solar energy company is moving to 130 Roberts St. in the heart of the River Arts District in Asheville. The new location will provide the fast-growing solar energy company more square footage and a stronger connection to the city's community in which it thrives. More than 60 FLS Energy employees will move into the former AVL Technologies building in early 2012. FLS Energy began their search for a new location this spring.

"We looked at more than 30 properties throughout Buncombe County," said FLS Energy President, Dale Freudenberger. "In the end, it came down to which property would best meet the needs of our employees: a central location, a connection to our Asheville community, and ease for alternate transportation. The River Arts District is a great fit for FLS Energy."

Please welcome our new Outreach Team members. This group of talented individuals will lead the charge in the support and education of our current members, future members and North Carolina's ever-growing clean energy economy. Each of them will be serving as Community Education Relations Specialists across the state. Learn more about this energetic and dedicated team:  

• Charles Adair serves the Triad and Triangle regions. Prior to joining NCSEA, he worked as the executive director for the Piedmont Environmental Alliance. He holds a master of Environmental Management from Duke University and a bachelor's in Economics and Environmental studies.
• Mike Davis represents the Charlotte region. Before coming to NCSEA, he was the Charlotte business manager for Southern Energy Management and has a master of Media Arts from the University of South Carolina as well as a bachelor's in Political Science from Winthrop University.
• Sara Day Evans covers the Western region. She comes to NCSEA from NC Dept. of Commerce Division of Community Assistance. She has a BS in Geology with graduate work in Hydrogeology from the University of Kentucky. 
• Suzanne Murphy Gooding serves the Eastern region. She is also a member of the adjunct faculty at UNC-Wilmington and holds a master of Public Administration from UNC-Wilmington and a bachelor's in Geography from UNC-Chapel Hill.

To read their complete bios, click here.

UNC-TV's program "NC Now" highlighted three clean energy Hertford County businesses that are dedicated to improving the economy and ecology of North Carolina. The episode, which orginally aired on Oct. 31, 2011, features Wellons Energy Solutions, a project developer for biomass cogeneration facilities; SunPower, a provider of solar solutions; and Enviva LP, a manufacturer of processed biomass fuel.

The segment was part of the North Carolina Rising project which identifies and highlights the success stories of North Carolina's rural areas that once thrived on crops such as tobacco but are now transitioning into a new global economy. In August 2010 UNC-TV began a weekly series of reports on North Carolina Now, UNC-TV's flagship public affairs series. The reports feature unique economic development projects happening across the state and seek to raise awareness of effective revitalization efforts so that they might be replicated in other areas of the state and beyond.

What does clean energy mean to you? Our video on "The Face of Clean Energy in North Carolina" explores this. See below.

As part of its Annual Membership Meeting in Raleigh on November 9, current members of the NC Sustainable Energy Association elected three new individuals to its Board of Directors. These energy experts will serve a three-year term beginning on January 1, 2012:

• Diane Cherry, Institue for Emerging Issues, Raleigh, NC: For the past 20 years, Diane Cherry has worked in the environmental and energy field in a non-partisan research organization, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources and as the Environments Policy Manager at the Institute of Emerging Issues.
• Garald Cottrell, Wellons Energy Solutions, High Point, NC: Garald Cottrell is President and General Manager of Wellons Energy Solutions, a biomass cogeneration project developer that specializes in biomass steam and cogeneration projects for industrial manufacturers.Prior to joining Wellons Energy, he was the CEO of Enerphase Industrial Solutions.
• Carrie Cullen Hitt, The Solar Alliance, Scituate, MA: Carrie Cullen Hitt brings The Solar Alliance more than 15 years of energy industry experience. Prior to joining The Solar Alliance, she served as Vice President of Renewable Products for Constellation Energy.
• Jacqueline L. Patterson, Sheercom, LLC, Huntersville, NC: Jacqueline L. Patterson si Principal and Owner of Sheercom, LLC, one of a few 100 percent minority-and-women-owned companies in the clean energy and sustainable industry.

North Carolina is leading the Southeast in the emerging clean energy economy. Below is a small sampling of what's happening across our state. Click on each link to learn more about these recent innovations, announcements and advancements. (And, remember to forward your announcements to amneris@energync.org, if you would like your information posted on NCSEA's website and included in our eNews.).

Wake Tech automotive instructor Rich Cregar was named a “Champion of Change” by the White House for his role in preparing workers for careers in sustainable transportation technologies.

Watagua High School plans to install a 35-foot wind turbine, as a tool that could bolster hands-on education for students and offset the school's energy bills.

A 3 megawatt solar project in Lilesville, about 60 miles east of Charlotte, is being planning for North Carolina. Not long ago 3 megawatts would have been unprecedented in size in North Carolina, but in recent months several projects have been proposed at 4.5 megawatts and 5 megawatts.

Manufacturer FMC Lithium is making a $50 million investment in Gaston County.

Duke Energy Renewables has acquired three 1-megawatt (MW) commerical solar projects in the southwestern corner of NC.