The Raleigh News & Observer (N & O) recently wrote, regarding the renewable energy requirement from SB 3:
“An independent study commissioned by the General Assembly concluded
that the state could get at least 10 percent of its electricity from
renewables. The study did not consider two of the biggest sources of
clear power: solar energy and offshore wind power.”
This is inaccurate and misleading.
The study explained that 10% could only be achieved if offshore wind was used–as the study itself stated this would be “problematic” and “impractical.”
As you can see from what I just wrote, offshore wind power was considered–it also should be noted that solar energy also was considered (I have no idea why they said both weren’t considered in the study).
This is what La Capra Associates (BTW: an environmental extremist firm), the same consultant that did the study, told the legislature:
?Though not discussed in the REPS report, we believe a 10% REPS with up to 50% from energy efficiency and the remainder from renewable energy is a more practical goal in light of such barriers. In this way, neither the maximum potential for renewable generation nor energy efficiency is exhausted.?
In plain English: Don’t go above a 5% renewable energy requirement.
What did the legislature do? It ignored them and went with a 7.5% requirement.
Other quick points:
– The legislature didn’t commission the study, the North Carolina Utilities Commission did.
– I have no idea what “clear” power is supposed to mean.
The N & O got almost everything wrong in that one paragraph. NC has poor renewable energy resources, and even an extremist firm warned the legislature about this fact.
