Plans to scale back North Carolina’s renewables energy policies could put its newly minted gigawatt-scale solar market at risk, the US Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) has warned.
The SEIA and GTM US market report earlier this month confirmed that North Carolina had become just the fourth state in the country to reach the landmark of installing 1GW. Only California, Arizona and New Jersey have installed more. The 58MW installed in Q1 2015 took state-wide deployment to 1,011MW.
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Last month, Bill 332 progressed another step along the state legislative process. If approved, it would freeze North Carolina’s Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) at 6%. It is currently slated to increase to 10% in 2018.
“North Carolina is one of the only states in the Southeast to have an RPS. Today, North Carolina is also ranked #1 in the entire South in installed solar capacity. That’s not a coincidence,” said Rhone Resch, president and CEO, SEIA.
“Smart public policies, like the state's investment tax credit (ITC) and renewable energy portfolio standard, are paying huge dividends for the state’s economy, creating thousands of jobs and generating hundreds of millions of dollars a year in economic activity,” added Resch. “Freezing the state’s renewable energy requirement, along with other regressive provisions of House Bill 332, would have a chilling effect on future solar development, threatening existing jobs, as well as the ability to create new jobs. We also believe it's important to extend the state's hugely successful ITC.”
According to the SEIA-backed report, US$747 million has been invested in the state’s solar industry since the start of 2014 with 5,600 people employed in the solar sector across North Carolina.
