A Citizens Guide to the NC REPS
In a historic stroke of the pen on August 20, 2007, Governor Mike Easley signed Senate Bill 3 and North Carolina became the 25th state - and the first in the Southeast - to enact a mandatory renewable energy and energy efficiency portfolio standard (REPS) into law. The new law - known as Session Law 2007-397 - requires North Carolina electric utilities to include renewable energy and energy efficiency in their electric generation portfolios. They must do this by ensuring that a percentage of the electricity they sell is created through the use of renewable energy resources or energy efficiency measures.
In an effort to help individuals, businesses, government, nonprofits and others understand our state's REPS law, The NC Sustainable Energy Association has produced "A Citizen's Guide: The North Carolina Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Portfolio Standard," which provides helpful background information and resources.
To read more, click here to download this publication.
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NCSEA first published our annual legislative guide in 2005, and in some years it has been read by more than 15,000 people. Annually, this guide reaches over 10,000 citizens, playing a vital role in educating the public about pending and recent legislation concerning: renewable energy, energy efficiency and high performance buildings, energy and economic development, climate change, and other energy sources. The guide also explains how a bill becomes a law, and overviews the form and function of the NC Utilities Commission..jpg)
What is North Carolina’s clean energy economy – and what does it encompass? What are our state’s clean energy resources, installed projects, business and job creation opportunities, and what regions of our state are leading the way? The NC Sustainable Energy Association (NCSEA) has compiled all of this valuable information and much more into the first-ever.png)
Across North Carolina, NCSEA's members, staff and Board of Directors are changing how we use, generate and think about energy. NCSEA works over-time to keep our State ahead of our Southeastern peers in almost every aspect of renewable energy, energy efficiency and high-performance building. Our intent is to provide North Carolina with a clean, secure, affordable and prosperous energy future. Read our latest annual report or browse past editions to learn more.
North Carolina’s clean energy economy continues to provide diverse employment for people of all skill levels and educational backgrounds in every region of our state. The emerging renewable energy and energy efficiency industries have expanded rapidly in recent years, despite one of the longest and most severe recessions in our nation’s history. Further expansion is expected in 2012, which will be driven by increasing consumer demand, the ongoing implementation of North Carolina’s energy policies and additional venture capital infusions.
Given increased public interest regarding electricity costs in the wake of Duke Energy’s recent proposal to increase residential electric rates by over 17 percent, NCSEA examined North Carolina Utilities Commission (NCUC) dockets to objectively evaluate the role of electric utilities’ energy resource choices as drivers of electric rate increases in North Carolina over the past decade, focusing largely on how much recent rate changes have been due to fossil and nuclear fuel costs, new coal and natural gas power plants, and compliance with North Carolina’s Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Portfolio Standard (REPS).