Sunny side up: investment, advances and demand give renewables a bright future in North Carolina.

AuthorEmmett, Arielle
PositionSPONSORED SECTION: ENERGIZED

Electricity generated from nuclear and fossil fuels ruled before 2010, especially in North Carolina. But since, solar prices in the U.S. have dropped 66%, easing its implementation, according to Washington, D.C.-based Solar Energy Industries Association. In 2015, solar-energy providers installed 1,140 megawatts of electric capacity statewide, second only to California, and more than 200 solar companies employ nearly 6,000 Tar Heels.

Clean energy--including solar, wind, biomass, landfill gas and hydroelectric--is a $7 billion industry in North Carolina that employs more than 26,000, according to Raleigh-based North Carolina Sustainable Energy Association. Over the next five years, more than 3,600 megawatts of solar, twice the current capacity, is expected to be added. Renewables are creating a network of systems operators; municipal power authorities and agencies; regional transmission organizations; equipment and power engineering suppliers; and independent power producers that is challenging traditional generation.

Charlotte-based Duke Energy Corp. has spent $4 billion to expand solar and wind capacity in the six states it serves. It owns and operates 500 megawatts of solar projects in North Carolina for its consumer business. Duke purchases up to 1,400 megawatts of solar electricity from independent power producers to meet renewable-energy requirements. On the commercial side, Duke Energy Renewables invested $400 million in eight solar projects in 2015, bringing the total to 30 farms in North Carolina. Cornelius-based solar farm developer and operator 02 emc LLC has garnered $250 million from private tax equity investors to help it lease or purchase farmland for solar sites, says President Olee Joel Olsen. 02 installations generate millions in county tax revenue, more jobs and farmer paychecks, plus above-market returns, the company says, thanks to a generous 30% federal tax credit on renewable energy investments.

Renewables have seen some cloudy days. North Carolina's 35% renewables tax credit expired in 2015, raising concerns of a slowdown. That has yet to happen, but the state's Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Portfolio Standard, which mandates public utilities generate as much as 12.5% of electricity through renewables by 2021, continues to see challenges. Those include house bills in 2013 and 2015, which died in committee. Brian O'Hara, senior vice president of strategy and government affairs for Chapel Hill-based solar...

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