The Senate voted tonight (Wednesday) in support of an amended version of H 589, Competitive Energy Solutions. The measure as it passed the Senate is contrary to the spirit and substance of the House’s original omnibus solar bill, which was the outcome of a lengthy stakeholder process.
The provisions added by the Senate to H 589 would place a 3.5-year moratorium on new wind development without grandfathering in two projects in eastern North Carolina that have been in development for three years.
The Senate version of the bill also would dramatically reduce the amount of renewable energy that utilities would be required to procure through competitive procurement over the next four to five years.
The Senate version of the bill would also:
- Require cumbersome and unnecessary financial assurance requirements for solar facilities that no other state requires.
- Effectively caps solar development in the North Carolina after four to five years.
The changes to the bill were made behind closed doors by a largely anonymous group of six senators, referred to by the Senate as a study group.
Brown, the Senate majority leader, has long crusaded to stop wind development in eastern North Carolina, ostensibly out of concern for the potential for military base closings in the future. This is despite the fact that the Department of Defense has a review and mitigation process for renewable energy projects to avoid conflicts.
Statement of Molly Diggins, NC Sierra Club State Director:
“The Senate today voted to undermine and potentially bar future development of solar and wind energy in North Carolina. The Senate amendments to the House energy bill are suggestive of an ideological antipathy for clean energy. Yet North Carolinians overwhelmingly support clean energy.”