Contact: Regina Weiss, 212-991-1069, regina@gracelinks.org; Peter Hanlon, 212-991-1831, peter@newenergychoices.org
National advocacy group zeros in on state’s progress
August 4, 2008 – The New York based Network for New Energy Choices (NNEC) commends the North Carolina Utilities Commission’s (NCUC) on its recent decision to advance clean energy. New standards adopted by NCUC will reduce fees and shorten waiting periods for North Carolina electric customers who want to connect their solar or wind generators to the electric grid. The effect will be to ease restrictions on customer-sited electricity generation, expanding residents’ choices for managing their energy consumption and keeping their bills low.
"According to preliminary analysis for our upcoming report, Freeing the Grid: 2008 Edition, North Carolina is on the right track," said NNEC’s James Rose. Freeing the Grid, which tracks government actions to promote renewable energy in all 50 states, is due out in the fall. "The standards the Commission adopted meet and exceed federal guidelines designed to promote clean energy production," Rose added. "The new standards push North Carolina to the head of the class, with a grade of B, up from last year’s F."
The new interconnection standards are an important building block that will help bring the solar industry to the state. Solar energy creates more jobs per megawatt than any other source of energy. Under the newly adopted Renewable Energy Portfolio Standards (Senate Bill 3), demand has been created for clean, renewable energy. The new interconnection standards are the first step in meeting this demand.
"Under the specter of a lagging economy, the NCUC has put the state a step closer to a thriving solar industry," said Claudia Eyzaguirre of the Vote Solar Initiative, a national group working to bring solar power to the mainstream. "The emerging solar industry promises green collar job creation and investment in the state’s economy."
The Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC) issued a statement saying, "The Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC) congratulates the North Carolina Utilities Commission for taking a strong step forward with its new interconnection standard. IREC believes that the Commission's new standard will help move North Carolina to the front of the pack in facilitating the growth of renewable distributed generation."
"The improvements to the interconnection rules fit with the broader policy reforms that we have seen in North Carolina over the last year," said Rosalie R. Day, Policy Director of the North Carolina Sustainable Energy Association. "The regulatory environment is clearly signaling an interest in adopting renewable technologies."
"Easy to understand and use interconnection standards are critical for achieving the goals of the North Carolina Renewable Energy Portfolio Standards," said Richard Harkrader, owner of Carolina Solar Energy. "The new standard makes the process for larger systems predictable and gives new renewable energy businesses, such as mine, confidence in our ability to plan and install new renewable energy generation systems."
"We are excited to see the North Carolina Utilities Commission making strides to meet the renewable energy goals set forth in the Renewable Energy Portfolio Standards," said Maria Kingery, Co-founder of Southern Energy Management. "By making it easier for businesses to invest in renewable power generation, these new standards will help spur growth in North Carolina’s fledgling green economy and encourage the creation of more good jobs for our state."
"North Carolina has proven itself again a leader in the South on renewable energy policy," said NNEC’s Rose. "The next logical step is to update the state’s net metering rules."
The commission will re-evaluate net metering in late August and has the opportunity to improve the state’s current grade of F in this category, according to NNEC. Net metering allows electricity consumers to help meet clean energy goals by crediting the excess electricity produced by private solar systems connected to the grid.
No comments:
Post a Comment