On Christmas Eve, half a million North Carolinians were impacted by rolling blackouts during an extreme cold snap. It brought electric reliability to the forefront of public thought once again. Duke Energy said the cause of the blackouts was a combination of reliance on unavailable purchased power from neighboring utilities and under-performance from key energy resources: two coal plants and a natural gas one. The plants were impacted by weather, causing components to freeze and drastically reduce energy production. Their backup, generators in neighboring utilities, had no power to spare since they experienced the same cold snap.

Twenty-seven miles from Virginia Beach, two turbines gently spin in the coastal breeze, generating enough electricity to power 7,500 homes. Too far from shore to be seen, these turbines represent a major step in the United States’ energy transition. Hundreds of turbines spanning dozens of projects along the Atlantic Coast will join these towers soon, including Avangrid Renewables’ Kitty Hawk North Wind Project.

Raleigh, N.C. – On December 30th, Duke Energy filed its final 2022 Carolinas Carbon Plan with the North Carolina Utilities Commission (NCUC) – a clean energy plan mandated through HB951 that requires the NCUC to take ‘all reasonable steps’ to achieve 70 percent carbon emissions reductions from 2005 levels by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 using a least-cost approach. 

Richmond, VA – This afternoon, the State Corporation Commission of Virginia (SCC) approved a joint agreement filed by the Office of the Attorney General, Walmart, Sierra Club, Appalachian Voices, and Dominion Energy Virginia, the developer of the Commercial Virginia Offshore Wind Project (CVOW). This agreement replaces the performance guarantee previously mandated in the August 5 approval of the CVOW project and outlines new customer protections, including:

Richmond, VA – This morning, Governor Glenn Yougkin and the Virginia Department of Energy unveiled the newest iteration of the Virginia Energy Plan, a proposal outlining the vision toward modernizing the Commonwealth’s energy system. The strategy released today highlights the need to continue building out offshore wind projects to drive economic growth while lowering energy costs for ratepayers. Given its independence from traditional fuel sources and low resource requirements post-construction, wind energy will help the Youngkin Administration lower costs of living for Virginians, create jobs, and encourage growth while establishing Virginia as a leader in industry’s supply chain.

When the Inflation Reduction Act was signed this month, North Carolina won the lottery, giving us 369 billion reasons to be optimistic about the good that can be achieved with those dollars. Offshore wind was a clear winner, strengthening our state’s shot at thousands of jobs and hundreds of millions in manufacturing, construction and other economic investments.

Raleigh, N.C. – Today, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, which is the single largest climate and energy investment in history. With over $369 billion in climate, resilience, and energy investments, this bill represents a historic stride in the Biden Administration’s goal to cut carbon emissions 50% from 2005 levels by 2030.