Please join the NC Sustainable Energy Association (NCSEA) at the NC General Assembly for our 2012 "Clean Energy Jobs Lobby Days" - help us meet with and educate our state legislators about the many clean energy success stories in every region of our state and our tremendous opportunities for further progress with additional policy action. 

Clean energy = NC jobs & economic opportunities in every region of our state.  We will hold two "Clean Energy Lobby Days" at the legislature during the 2012 legislative session and we need your participation to make them a success.  If you can join us for an entire day or just a few hours, you will make a difference! 

Click here to sign-up to participate on the appropriate Lobby Day(s): Tues., May 22nd and Tues., June 12th.

NC Legislators will hold a second meeting of the House Third Party Sale of Electricity Committee at 9:30 a.m. on April 12 in Room 544 of the Legislative Office Building in Raleigh. Click here to learn more about this committee and its membership. If you support clean energy, you are encouraged to attend.

Alganomics, LLC of Southport, a leader in culturing algae for biomass, installed in cooperation with the region’s leading solar company, Cape Fear Solar Systems, LLC, a photovoltaic solar system to offset energy used during the process of culturing algae for biofuel. With the aim to add new alternative energy sources to the renowned tubular photo bioreactor processes, a 4.8 kW solar electric system and hybrid windmills were installed at the algae culturing plant at Oak Island’s Wastewater Treatment Facility.

Implementation of this unique project was possible thanks to a 2009 NC Green Business Fund grant award. This funding source was a conversion from State of NC funds to Federal American Recovery & Reinvestment Act (ARRA) Stimulus funds for conserving energy, utilizing renewable sources and reducing the carbon footprint. “Creative applications of renewable energy will keep North Carolina in the forefront of innovation for biofuels development and environmental remediation. We are very appreciative to have the opportunity to showcase North Carolina’s vision by teaming with such NC organizations as the Biofuels Center and the Dept. of Commerce,” states Dr. Kimberly Jones, Founder and CSO of Alganomics. The solar system mainly saves energy needed for fluid circulation during the biomass creation process. The hybrid windmills, installed by R.L. Jones & Sons Construction, LLC, feed compressed air into the photobioreactors.

Energy experts from across the sector convened at the 2012 FREEDM Industry Summit on Jan. 31 to explore the benefits and challenges of upgrading the country's electric power grid. Panelists at the second day of the FREEDM Systems Center event included utility executives and technology leaders who discussed the consumer value and business opportunities of grid modernization. The two-day event, at the McKimmon Center on NC State University’s campus, also featureda review of the FREEDM Systems Center's research that focuses on integrating renewables energy into a smart grid.

Cutting-edge technology, the retirement of coal plants and increases in renewable energy generation has lead traditional energy providers to consider the most effective ways of enhancing the aging power grid. The experts at day two of the summit addressed issues of power storage, reliability, transmission, interconnection, distribution and metering. Emerging technologies, such as synchronized phasor measurements or synchrophasors, extract value for consumers and service providers by collecting and measuring real-time information. The addition of synchrophasors to electricity substations has the potential to increase the amount of energy that can reliably be transmitted on the high-voltage grid.  

The North Carolina Division of Social Services has evaluated and updated the application process and eligibility requirements for the state’s Low Income Energy Assistance Program (LIEAP) in accordance with changes mandated by the General Assembly.  Citizens interested in receiving assistance with their heating costs during the cold-weather months need to be aware of these changes to the application process and the eligibility requirements for the LIEAP benefit.

In the past, applications were taken in November of each year and payments were sent directly to program recipients in February.  Households participating in the Food and Nutrition Services Program (formerly called Food Stamps) were automatically approved.  That is no longer the case.  Under the program changes, ALL households must meet income and resource eligibility requirements and must apply for LIEAP funds; there are no longer automatic approvals.  In addition, at the direction of the General Assembly, energy payments will now be made directly to the service provider, such as power, gas, or oil companies during the month of application.

Applications for persons age 60 and above or disabled persons (receives SSI, SSA, or VA disability) who are receiving services through the Division of Aging and Adult Services (DAAS) will be taken through Jan. 31, 2012, or until funds are exhausted.  All members of the household must be 60 years of age or older, or at least one household member must be disabled and receiving services through the DAAS.  If funds remain available after Jan. 31, 2012, any other eligible households may apply during February through the end of March.

For more information go to: http://www.ncdhhs.gov/dss/energy/

Contact your local department of social services for the application dates and for additional information on LIEAP.  A list of these local offices and contact information is available at www.ncdhhs.gov/dss/local/.

Visit LIHEAP's Action Center to learn more about this and other energy programs.

[Source: NC AARP]

RALEIGH, NC  — The North Carolina Sustainable Energy Association (NCSEA) remains opposed to the Duke Energy-Progress Energy merger. Wednesday’s Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) order rejecting the companies’ proposal reinforces NCSEA’s stated concerns.

As electricity rates continue to rise, NCSEA shares FERC’s concern that the merger will inappropriately reduce market competition. NCSEA believes that the companies’ offer of a limited amount of wholesale power into eastern North Carolina does little to reduce the merged company’s market power and is not in the public interest.

 “Over the past 11 years, NCSEA has found that the average residential ratepayer has seen their electric bill rise over 300 dollars per year,” said Ivan Urlaub, NCSEA Executive Director. “In attempting to create the country’s largest monopoly, NCSEA is concerned that Duke and Progress have set the stage for additional rate increases that the two utilities have said they will request. To reduce the amount of future rate increases, NCSEA supports measures that allow for limited market competition and provide ratepayers more options and greater control over their energy bills.”

NCSEA Managing Director Paul Quinlan traveled to Atlanta Thursday, December 8 to speak at two separate energy events.

Quinlan was part of a panel discussion about "Megatrends and Drivers in Southeast Energy Efficiency Policy and Programs" at the Southeast Energy Efficiency Alliance’s annual membership meeting.  The event was at the Hands On Atlanta Headquarters in Atlanta. Other panelists included Mike Couick, President and CEO of The Electric Co-Operatives of South Carolina and Angela Strickland, Director of Energy Efficiency, Georgia Power. Steve Levitas of Kilpatrick Townsend is the moderator. The Southeast Energy Efficiency Alliance promotes energy efficiency for a cleaner environment, a more prosperous economy and a higher quality of life in the Southeastern region of the United States.

He was also part of a panel discussion about success stories for The Southeast Agriculture and Forest Energy Resources (SAFER) Alliance and the 25x’25 Alliance's Southern Bioenergy Networks meeting. The event explored how to build a stronger bioenergy network to promote and develop the bioenergy industry. To see the agenda, click here.

RALEIGH, N.C. – North Carolina continues to recover from one of the longest recessions in our nation’s history – marked by ongoing high unemployment. Retaining jobs and fostering economic development has become a priority for businesses, policymakers and residents across the state. Since the passage of the Southeast’s first renewable energy and energy efficiency law in 2007, the clean energy sectors – broadly categorized as renewable energy and energy efficiency – have burst onto the scene and are found in every region of the state.

North Carolina boasts an international smart grid cluster, two of the 50 fastest growing companies in the nation (both are renewable energy companies), and regional initiatives, including the Evolve Energy Partnership, Charlotte New Energy Capital and the Research Triangle CleanTech Cluster.

These assets are supported by a diverse sector with industry activities across all major focus areas. In only a few short years, the clean energy sector has become a North Carolina success story and a valued component of our state’s economic landscape.

These and other findings are outlined in the 2011 Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency Industries Census. The NC Sustainable Energy Association (NCSESA) presented the Census during its annual Making Energy Work conference on Wednesday Nov. 9 at the Raleigh Convention Center.

“One of the key findings of the 2011 census is that the clean energy sector in North Carolina is really a statewide sector. While we do find concentrations of specific technologies like Smart Grid in the Research Triangle, we have found that in addition to the major city hubs like Charlotte and Raleigh, there is an ever-increasing physical presence of firms in the clean energy sector in areas like Hickory, Boone and other areas,” said Rich Crowley, Manager of Market Research & Spatial Analysis for the NC Sustainable Energy Association. “It is important to note that this is using a conservative metric – companies are actually reporting these locations. Unlike national surveys that use large top down database approaches, the NCSEA industry clean energy sector maps are locations that companies are verifying in 2011. In short, there is much more certainty and accuracy with the NCSEA maps since it’s coming directly from industry.”

North Carolina ranks ninth in the U.S. for additional installed PV capacity and eleventh for cumulative installed PV capacity, according to the Interstate Renewable Energy Council’s U.S. Solar Market Trends 2010 report.

The Interstate Renewable Energy Council publishes the report each year. North Carolina ranked above Texas on the 2010 list. California came in first followed by New Jersey, Nevada, Arizona, Colorado, Pennsylvania, New Mexico and Florida. All of the top 10 states made the list, the report said, because of their state renewable portfolio or financial incentive programs.

Duke Energy and Progress Energy hurriedly filed amendments to their $26 billion merger with federal regulators on Monday in a bid to get the deal approved by the end of the year. The filings were made possible by the NC Utilities Comission (NCUC), who ruled earlier on Monday that the utilities did not have to wait the standard 30 days to add safeguards requested by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). The federal regulators ruled last month that the merger raises significant concerns about market concentration, which should be addressed in order for the merger to be approved.