Meeting North Carolina’s coming energy needs should be at the top of our elected officials’ priorities.
Hi there,
As we kick off 2025 and the new legislative session meeting North Carolina’s coming energy needs should be at the top of our elected officials’ priorities.
Energy efficiency mandates starting in the late ‘00s gave North Carolina the energy cushion to absorb the influx of new residents and businesses attracted by our economic growth. But if utilities fail to keep pace with growing demand, then that economic growth will inevitably hit an energy supply wall.
Duke Energy is the largest electricity provider in the state, servicing both power-hungry metro areas and isolated, rural communities.
Consequently, Duke Energy has the main responsibility of meeting the emission reduction targets outlined in House Bill 951. To that end, Duke has already reduced carbon dioxide emissions by upgrading coal-fired power plants to cleaner-burning natural gas.
Under HB 951, utilities emissions must get 70% below 2005 levels by 2030, or achieve total carbon neutrality by 2050. Which path utilities take to reconcile these requirements with growing demand will determine both the prices consumers like you pay and define the contours of North Carolina’s economic growth.
To that end, Locke published a report on North Carolina’s possible energy futures. The report includes:
A breakdown of North Carolina’s current energy infrastructure
Two different scenarios to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 while meeting increasing energy demand
The “Renewable Scenario”, which would maintain current nuclear and hydroelectric power plants while dramatically increasing renewable sources
The “Nuclear Scenario”, which builds new nuclear plants to produce more electricity with less infrastructure
An estimate on the cost of reaching former Governor Cooper’s zero-emissions vehicle goals (spoiler alert: it’s a lot!)
You can read the full report here, and more about energy in North Carolina here and here.
A new investigative report finds that the Biden Administration’s Justice Department issued $2.5 million in grants to 4 North Carolina schools to fund Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) and restorative justice initiatives
The grants were part of a $100 million package distributed since 2021, impacting 36 states, 946 school districts, and about 3.2 million students across the U.S.
The grants include collaborations with organizations to address systemic inequalities, particularly for LGBTQ+ and BIPOC communities
The NC recipients include:
Ashe County School District received $607,423 for a "Restorative Justice in Ashe County Schools" project
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools received $933,662 for a program targeting students involved in violent incidents or physical aggression
Durham Public Schools received nearly $1 million for a bullying and school violence prevention program
An additional $1 million was offered to the Public Health Authority of Cabarrus County (though this funding has yet to be accepted)
Critics have pointed out that these programs fail to eliminate discrimination, undermine legal rights, and are actually harmful for our educational institutions
Members of North Carolina’s congressional delegation, led by Rep. Richard Hudson (NC-09), introduced the Constitutional Concealed Carry Act (HR38),
The bill would give concealed carry license holders nationwide reciprocity
i.e. states would be required to recognize a valid concealed carry license or permit issued by another state
In a press release, Hudson said:
“Our Second Amendment right does not disappear when we cross invisible state lines, and this commonsense legislation guarantees that… The Constitutional Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act will protect law-abiding citizens’ rights to conceal carry and travel freely between states without worrying about conflicting state codes or onerous civil suits.”
Hudson has introduced this legislation in the past
The bill was passed by the House in 2017, but was not taken up by the Senate
The bill is supported by 2nd Amendment advocates
Such as The NRA Institute for Legislative Action and Gun Owners of America
If it passes in Congress, President-elect Trump is expected to sign the bill upon assuming office
On December 21st, the News & Observer reported that a North Atlantic whale entangled in fishing gear was spotted off the Outer Banks
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Fisheries division (NOAA Fisheries) expected the whale to die from its injuries
It was the 3rd time in a week that a right whale was seen entangled in fishing gear (the other 2 were in Massachusetts)
And on December 27th, WRAL reported that a dead humpback whale washed ashore Kitty Hawk beach… the 11th whale death off the coast of North Carolina and Virginia in 2024
NOAA researchers said they’ve seen a spike in deaths of humpback, North Atlantic and minke whales, all endangered species
So… what’s behind these whale deaths?
A strong possibility is the rapid and reckless construction of sprawling offshore wind facilities along the Eastern Seaboard
These facilities are often in the whales’ migratory paths and feeding and calving areas
And their construction is excessively noisy, which can disrupt the whales’ sonar (and push them into shipping and fishing lanes)
There are 2 facilities under construction off Kitty Hawk, close to where those dead whales were found…
Meanwhile, the Biden Administration and the media are blaming climate change for the whale deaths…
So, the catalyst for killing the whales gets recast as a solution…
Maybe constructing nearly 3 dozen massive projects in migratory paths and calving areas would have a grievous effect on a critically endangered species
And are the projects even worth it?
Offshore wind facilities are both extremely expensive and completely unreliable
Many times, their power production is gone with the wind…
And to make up for that drop in production, more fossil fuels are burned…
Leading to more carbon emissions, which offshore winds was supposed to decrease
