SOLAR TODAY - May 2011 - Innovative Design

advances
| policy
In North Carolina, Lessons for Tough States
By Gina R. Johnson
Gina R. Johnson (editor@
solartoday.org) is
editor of SOLAR TODAY.
Since passing a renewable energy and energy-efficiency
portfolio standard (REPS) in 2007, North
Carolina’s solar market has flourished. The state has
vaulted to the eighth and ninth places respectively for solar
water-heating and photovoltaic installations in the nation,
according to the Solar Energy Industries Association. The
North Carolina Sustainable Energy Association (NCSEA)
reports that green jobs have grown at double-digit rates
each year, reaching an estimated 12,500 in 2010. As work
toward federal energy policies has stalled and more states
grapple with budgetary shortfalls and declining incentives,
North Carolina’s approach for thriving under challenging
conditions may offer a model.
Like other Southeastern U.S. states and much of the
Midwest, North Carolina is a regulated electricity market
where investor-owned utilities (IOUs) are regulated
monopolies. The competitive market-based approach of a
renewable portfolio standard tends to be a major shift for
regulators and IOUs in these states, especially when the
IOU is unlikely to own and operate new renewable generation.
Skepticism and misperceptions about renewable
energy resources and cost are common. For such states, say
North Carolina solar advocates, clear lessons have emerged:
build broad support, start with small steps and respect the
needs of regulators, legislators and utilities.
To appreciate the challenges North Carolina advocates
faced, one need look no further than its neighbor to
the South.
Though ranked 10th in the nation for its strong solar
resource, Georgia lingers in the bottom third in terms of
solar installations. The state has a growing base of renewable
energy advocates. But the 75 or so IOUs that serve the
Southeast under the Southern Co. holding company remain
focused on coal and nuclear generation. Solar financing is
hindered by Georgia’s 1973 territorial act, which requires
power generators to sell their energy to Georgia Power. As
a result, project developers can’t take advantage of the solar
power purchase agreement (PPA) used to finance most
large-scale installations nationwide.
Despite the challenges, Georgia has taken steps to
FLS Energy
Since the REPS went into effect in 2007, Asheville, N.C.-based FLS Energy has installed enough solar thermal capacity in North Carolina to heat more than 500,000
gallons of water daily. The state has more than 100 solar energy companies, employing more than 1,500 people.
18 May 2011 SOLAR TODAY solartoday.org Copyright © 2011 by the American Solar Energy Society Inc. All rights reserved.