Energy
Environment
Exploring market-based solutions to the most pressing environmental issues facing North Carolina.
Energy
Estimated Impacts to Cost and Reliability of Duke’s Portfolio 2
This post discusses Portfolio 2 of the four Duke portfolios. Portfolio 2, like the other three portfolios, would rely heavily on new solar, but it would be the portfolio most…
Energy
Estimated Impacts to Electricity Costs and Reliability of Duke’s Portfolio 1
This post discusses Portfolio 1 of the four Duke portfolios. It evaluates it according to standards required by law of the UC.
Research Brief
Energy
Duke’s Carbon Plan scenarios all flunk the reliability test
A 2021 law requires that the Utilities Commission and Duke Energy set a plan to cut CO2 emissions from electricity generation by 70% (from 2005 levels) by around 2030 and…
Energy
An Important Judicial Check Against Hyperregulation
My latest article for the American Institute for Economic Research finds a flicker of good news amid the blizzard of bad news that has marked the Biden years so far.…
Research Brief
Energy
How Much More Would You Spend on Electricity for Tens of Thousands of Jobs Lost?
The question isn't whether a massive buildout of offshore wind capacity off North Carolina beaches would lead to fewer jobs and less economic growth than otherwise, but how extensive the losses would be. Households…
Research Brief
Budget, Taxation & Economy
Is North Carolina So Desperate for Jobs that It Makes Even Offshore Wind Seem Worth a Gamble?
Pres. Biden and Gov. Cooper tout government intervention to force offshore wind energy development off North Carolina beaches as a way to create jobs and grow the economy. Expected electricity…
Research Brief
Energy
Offshore Wind Facilities Would Wreck N.C.’s Coastal Fishing Industry and Marine Ecosystems
Fishing communities in every coastal state have tried to alert the Biden administration to offshore wind energy's threat to their industry and marine habitats, biodiversity, and oceanography. The oceanic waters…
Research Brief
Energy
Offshore Wind Development Threatens Marine Wildlife, Including Endangered Species
There has been little examination of the extent of the impacts of "environmentally friendly" offshore wind development on affected marine ecologies, habitats, fisheries, and wildlife. A few studies attest to…
Energy
Analysis of Duke Energy’s Carolinas Carbon Plan and a Least Cost Decarbonization Alternative
Each of the four alternate portfolios in the Duke plan would greatly increase the cost of electricity in North Carolina, greatly increase the average monthly bills of North Carolina households,…
Research Brief
Energy
Bad State Energy Policies Can’t Save the World, But They Can Harm North Carolinians, Part 2
North Carolina has been cutting CO2 emissions this whole century without costly offshore wind energy being forced on electricity consumers. Meanwhile, China has added 38.4 GW of new coal-fired electricity in…
Research Brief
Energy
Bad State Energy Policies Can’t Save the World, But They Can Harm North Carolinians
One of Gov. Cooper's reasons for seeking to build 8 GW of offshore wind near our beaches is to fight climate change by reducing North Carolina's energy emissions. Let alone…
Research Brief
Environment
Detailing Cooper and DEQ’s Early Reluctance to Stop PFAS Pollution in the Cape Fear River
A bipartisan bill to address PFAS pollution would require polluters like Chemours to reimburse public water systems for cleanup, abatement, and technology needs. Debate over the bill includes concerns it…