The Triangle accounts for one-third of the state's green energy projects, according to data issued this morning by the N.C. Sustainable Energy Association.

In the first-of-its-kind assessment of a still-emerging field, the Raleigh advocacy group's N.C. Clean Energy Data Book shows that the Triangle includes examples of all five types of green energy in this state: biomass, geothermal, hydroelectric, solar and even wind.

The Sustainable Energy Association issued the report to document for lawmakers, academics and the public the state's widespread adoption of green energy, largely in the past few years, since the General Assembly mandated green energy in a 2007 law.

The group is urging legislators to continue encouraging policies that promote green energy projects by offering state incentives and requiring electric utilities to guy cleaner forms of energy from independent producers.

Progress Energy customers in this state can expect a moderate rate increase later this year, based on the electric utility's rate request in neighboring South Carolina.

Raleigh-based Progress today asked South Carolina regulators to raise the typical residential bill by about $5. The company is recovering fuel costs (mostly coal) and the cost of solar projects, other renewables and energy efficiency programs.

Progress will likely make a similar filing in North Carolina next month, after two consecutive years of rate cuts that reflected falling energy costs in the wake of the recession. If approved by the N.C. Utilities Commission, the increase would be effective Dec. 1.

Organizations in the Triangle and elsewhere received $4.6 million this week in government grants for green energy in one of the last distributions of stimulus money in this state.

The grants, paid out through the N.C. Department of Commerce, will pay for solar-powered electric vehicle recharging stations in Asheville, swine waste-to-energy projects in Harnett County, and public workshops and exhibits promoting energy-efficient home retrofits.

The grants range in size from about $24,000 to $500,000. Recipients in the Triangle include private businesses and N.C. State University.

The local grants will pay for a geothermal HVAC system at Kyma Technologies in Raleigh, electric vehicle recharging stations by Praxis Technologies in Raleigh, fuel cell units by Microcell Corp. in Raleigh, training in energy audits by Go Green Lighting in Chapel Hill, as well as for the audits themselves to be conducted by Southern Energy Management in Morrisville.

Barely three years have passed since the state overhauled its energy policy to require electric utilities to meet energy demand through renewable resources and energy efficiency programs.

Now a legislative proposal introduced Wednesday would scrap the 2007 energy law, known as Senate Bill 3, or SB3. Republican state Rep. George Cleveland's bill calls for the immediate repeal of Senate Bill 3, which requires power companies to meet 12.5 percent of customer electricity demand through renewables and conservation by 2021.

Cleveland, a retired U.S. Marine who represents Onslow County, could not be reached for comment this week.

But the idea originates from the conservative John Locke Foundation. The Raleigh nonprofit says SB3 artificially drives up electricity prices and panders to environmental extremists.

Progress Energy is now offering a generous financial incentive program that will help cut the cost of rooftop solar energy panels by two-thirds.

The SunSense program, approved by the N.C. Utilities Commission in November, offers an upfront rebate of $1,000 per kilowatt capacity of the solar panels upon installation of the system. Depending on the size of the solar array, the Progress rebate will range from $2,000 to $10,000.

SunSense also pays a monthly bill credit of $4.50 per kilowatt, which will range from $108 a year to $540 a year, depending on the size of the solar array.

When SunSense is combined with federal and state tax credits, the price of solar panels will come down to a third of their market value. That's significant reduction, since solar panels are prohibitively expensive for most people, typically costing between $25,000 and $75,000 for most homes.

It took a state law and several years of effort, but Progress Energy said today it has reached a symbolic milestone in renewable energy: 100 megawatts of clean electricity from solar farms and other renewable energy resources.

The Raleigh-based electric utility's milestone is a consequence of the state legislature's requirement that power companies increase their use of green energy. In 2021, renewables and energy efficiency must account for at least 12.5 percent of annual retail sales.

Progress still has a long way to go to achieve its green potential. As the state's renewable requirements phase-in over the next decade, the company will likely have to buy at least several hundred more megawatts of alternative energy.

The biggest single renewable resource in the company's renewable portfolio today is biomass, a category that includes wood waste and landfill gas. Sunshine accounts for about 10 percent of the 100 megawatts under contract, including industrial-scale solar farms in Cary, Raleigh and Roxoboro.
 

State regulators today resolved one of the more nettlesome conundrums of green energy: Do forests and tree farms count as a renewable energy resource?

The N.C. Utilities Commission said that they do, clearing the way for power companies to harvest entire trees for wood chips to be used as a fuel in power plants. Wood and other biomass are expected to supply much of the alternative fuel that in the coming decades will offset the state's heavy reliance on coal and nuclear power to generate electricity.

Duke Energy, the state's biggest power company, is already blending wood chips with coal to meet its green energy mandates under the state's 2007 energy law, which requires power companies to shift to alternative energy sources.

"This decision by the commission further reinforces that biomass, including woody biomass derived from whole trees, is a viable renewable resource for North Carolina," said Duke spokesman Jason Walls.

An energy company that uses poultry waste for fuel can't qualify as a green energy resource under North Carolina's law.

The ruling by the N.C. Utilities Commission means that Peregrine Biomass Development will have to scrap plans to build several industrial boilers that burn chicken droppings as an energy source to make steam and hot water for factories and other industrial applications.

The development is a major setback to the use of farm animal waste as a green energy resource, some believe.

"We just haven't had other viable proposals for poultry waste," said James McLawhorn, director of the electric division at the Public Staff, the state's consumer advocacy agency.

The state's 2007 energy law is a work in progress that requires resolving a number of thorny issues, such as whether chipped whole trees qualify as a renewable fuel source.

The state legislature three years ago required power companies to increase their reliance on alternative fuels, clean energy and energy conservation to meet customer demand. North Carolina became the first state in the Southeast to pass a renewable energy portfolio standard.

Under the law, power companies in the state buy electricity and renewable credit from small independent generators that use the sun, wood, animal waste and garbage as fuel.

The N.C. Utilities Commission, which enforces and monitors the state energy law, has already approved a renewable energy facility in Wake County that generates electricity from ethanol that's derived from organic waste.

The commission has also approved a renewable facility that has converted a pair of coal-burning power plants to burn a cleaner blend of coal mixed with wood waste and automobile tires. The portion of electricity that comes form rubber and organic material qualifies as biomass and can be used to toward the renewable energy mandate.

But the subject is so complicated that utilities commission has has to open more than a dozen case dockets to clear up misunderstandings and define disputed terms.

Duke Energy's residential customers in this state can expect a 6.5 percent discount on their power bills starting next month.

The change will be a welcome surprise for recession-weary residents who have watched their power bills go up dramatically in recent years.

State regulators approved three rate adjustments this month for the Charlotte-based electric utility. The combined effect of the changes will reduce the monthly bill of a typical customer from $95.72 to $89.52.