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A new North Carolina climate plan outlines actions that would help curb greenhouse gas pollution by nearly two-thirds by 2030 — surpassing a state goal and meeting scientists’ recommendations for how to avoid the worst impacts of global warming.
The state is already on pace to cut emissions just over 40% compared to 2005 levels. But the steps outlined in the new blueprint, crafted as part of the federal Inflation Reduction Act, would slash heat-trapping pollution even further.
If sustained over the ensuing decades, the measures would also bring the state closer to zeroing out its climate footprint by midcentury, though officials stress that doing so would require “significant will, funding, and effort.”
Finalized earlier this month after weeks of webinars, community meetings, and other forms of public feedback, the Priority Action Climate Plan covers six areas of the state’s economy: transportation, electricity, buildings, industry, waste, and lands. The action items are “implementation ready,” officials say, and not dependent on new state laws or policies.
By far, the biggest opportunity for curbing pollution is in the building sector. Ramping up support for low-income weatherization assistance, energy efficiency upgrades in government buildings, and other measures to reduce energy usage per square foot could account for 60% of pollution reductions anticipated by 2030.
“The buildings sector is one with a lot of low-hanging fruit that hasn’t been widely addressed to date,” said Sara Edwards, a spokesperson with the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality, which took the lead in crafting the action plan.
Edwards noted the state’s 2009-era residential building code, which is frozen in place until 2031 thanks to a law passed last year. “Even new housing stock coming online is not as energy efficient as it could be,” she said.
Many older commercial and public buildings lack up-to-date lighting and energy management systems, she added. “State agency buildings alone have identified over $200 million of energy saving projects that are waiting for funding to implement,” she said.
“The same types of projects could be implemented at public universities and community colleges, as well as schools and local government buildings, resulting in significant ongoing savings to [state] taxpayers,” said Edwards.
Phasing out direct combustion of fossil fuels in buildings, such as from gas furnaces, could achieve another 36 million metric tons of emissions, almost a quarter of the cuts.
Recommendations in the other five sectors combined could result in a fifth of the reductions, or a total of 29 million metric tons of carbon dioxide or the equivalent.
In the transportation sector, today the state’s largest source of greenhouse gasses, priority steps include facilitating transportation choices other than cars and increased deployment of electric vehicles and charging infrastructure.
To curb emissions from electric utilities, the plan focuses on boosting solar panels on homes, local government properties, and other small institutions, complementing a state law requiring Duke to ramp up larger-scale renewable energy investments.
The blueprint also outlines programs to increase industrial efficiency, better capture methane gas from landfills, and restore and protect peatlands and forests, vital for their ability to capture and store carbon.
North Carolina’s Department of Environmental Quality joined 44 other states in submitting its priority climate action plan, according to an announcement this week from the Environmental Protection Agency.
Charlotte, the Triangle, and the Eastern Band of Cherokees were among nearly 200 metropolitan regions and tribes around the country who submitted their own plans, as well.
The documents set the stage for the next phase of the federal Climate Pollution Reduction Grant program. With the blueprints as their guide, tribes, states, and large metropolitan regions will now work to apply for $4.6 billion in competitive grants for implementation.
As the Biden administration races to get Inflation Reduction Act funds out the door this year, the deadline for those proposals is April 1.
Meanwhile, the Department will take comments on the priority plan until June 3, which it says will inform yet another strategy document required under the Inflation Reduction Act: a comprehensive climate action plan, due in June 2025.
“Throughout this process,” Edwards said, “we’ve done public outreach and stakeholder engagement. That’s going to continue throughout. It’s not just like we’re going to drop this document and not take public comment.”
No one knows what a gas utility will look like a quarter-century from now, as many states near deadlines for their 2050 climate goals.
In Minnesota, though, state regulators will soon expect utilities to at least have a vision for the next decade.
The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission voted last month to require long-range resource planning from the state’s three largest gas utilities.
Similar to a process that’s long been used for electric utilities, gas utilities will need to periodically submit plans showing load forecasts under various scenarios and how they intend to meet that demand in a way that’s safe, reliable, and affordable — and in line with the state’s policies.
“An IRP (integrated resource plan), just like it happens on the electric side, informs the level and type of cost-effectiveness and a framework for utility investment,” Commission Chair Katie Sieben said. “The hope is that by having the state’s three largest natural gas utilities file IRPs, it will provide transparency and more intentional decision-making in the years to come.”
The decision stemmed from a yearlong investigation by the commission into fallout from a February 2021 cold snap that caused extreme gas price spikes across much of the country.
Utilities in a handful of other states also file gas resource plans, including Oregon, which has had a similar process since 1989. In Minnesota, utilities typically submit annual plans for the upcoming winter season and offer data on changes in natural gas consumption. Investments in gas infrastructure are often discussed in rate cases.
After a six-hour meeting that featured more than 100 decision options, the PUC began drawing parameters for the data and information it will seek from Xcel Energy, CenterPoint Energy and Minnesota Energy Resources Corp. The plans will include projections for low, medium and high natural gas demand and pricing. They will also model energy efficiency initiatives as a potential resource.
“I think that’s important in the long term for helping the gas sector meet our overall (state) decarbonization goals,” Sieben said.
The Center for Energy and Environment worked with Xcel Energy, the Department of Commerce and the Laborers’ International Union of North America on an approach to natural gas planning that heavily influenced the commission.
The center’s director of policy, Audrey Partridge, said asking for natural gas utilities to look out to 2050 remains difficult “because the quality of the data falls apart.” A 10-year time frame “is significantly longer than any planning on the gas system we’ve done to date.”
Though the plans don’t go as far as some clean energy and consumer advocates wanted to see, they’re hopeful the process, along with recent state laws encouraging gas utilities to diversify and decarbonize their businesses, will help make progress on state climate goals and avoid stranding customers with the cost of infrastructure that may not be needed in the future.
Annie Levenson-Falk, executive director of ratepayers’ advocacy group Citizens Utility Board, said the plans are “essential, given, particularly given all of the transition and uncertainty in the gas industry. It’s necessary, and we’re very happy to see this move forward.”
The natural gas market is in a state of flux, Levenson-Falk said. The growth of electric air source heat pumps is expected to cut into gas demand in the coming years. So will federal and state incentives encouraging geothermal and district heating systems.
Minnesota’s “future of heat” could eventually lead to natural gas being used only for the coldest days, Levenson-Falk said. As more customers switch to electric heating sources, there’s a risk that the cost of maintaining the natural gas system would “fall on households that could least afford it.”
The resource plans will help regulators see the “big picture” and how utilities are planning for it, she said. When gas utilities make investments, they often consider a 40-year timeline. But if gas sales decline, ratepayers will still have to pay for that infrastructure, Levenson-Falk said.
Clean energy and consumer organizations said natural gas utilities should consider a 2050 end-year because that’s Minnesota’s goal for carbon neutrality.
“We want the commission to be able to consider if they’re (gas utilities) putting in a 40 year pipe today, what will the utilization look like in 15 to 20 years?” Levenson-Falk said. “But they didn’t go that far.”
The natural gas sector is much more volatile than the electricity marketplace, with “so many unknowns,” Sieben said. That led the commission not to require utilities to propose a “net zero” future advocated by clean energy organizations. Commissioners also expressed concerns that net zero may impact the system’s reliability.
The commission decided utilities will need to consider externalities such as the societal cost of carbon pollution in the planning process.
“I think that is going to create a sea change in terms of opening up more opportunities for cleaner resources and reducing emissions on the gas side,” Partridge said.
Marketing Manager Kevin Pranis of the Laborers District Council of Minnesota & North Dakota said his union eventually supported the commission’s scope for gas planning. But he warned that no “magic” in planning would offer a perfect path toward reducing natural gas use.
By planning more than ten years out, “you’re basically making it up,” Pranis said. Even the idea of reducing natural gas piping cannot occur unless peak energy demand changes. He believes the distribution system will continue to operate for years but carry less natural gas.
“You need a fully functioning gas system until the day you don’t need it,” Pranis said.
Fresh Energy’s managing director of buildings, Joe Dammel, said utilities have long forecasted continued natural gas consumption increases despite contrary evidence. Nor have they had to include Minnesota’s 2050 carbon neutrality goals in their thinking.
Energy News Network is an independent journalism service of Fresh Energy.
The growth of natural gas “is at odds with, I think, a lot of the emerging policy concerns about the energy transition, customer preference and changes to the marketplace,” he said.
The plans will allow regulators to determine whether natural gas investments will be sensible in an uncertain future, he said. “Gas resource planning is an attempt to provide the commission and other stakeholders with a picture of potential futures,” Dammel said. “Saving customer dollars and keeping rates low is something planning can facilitate.”
Dammel still believes the final rules missed opportunities to gather important data. For example, he said that utilities will have to disclose potential new infrastructure investments but not the costs of replacing existing gas distribution systems, representing a significant portion of their spending.
Still, the natural gas resource planning “is a positive first step,” Dammel said.
The commission, however, might someday ask for net-zero planning.
“That’s the direction that we need to head,” Sieben said. “But are we ready to be there yet? No, but I wouldn’t be surprised if we, in the years to come, do get there and start to plan for a net-zero future in a more deliberate manner.”
The commission continues to take comments and has an August meeting set to further refine natural gas resource planning, including when the requirement will begin.
FOSSIL FUELS: New federal data shows four out of Rhode Island’s five natural gas-fired power plants have seen emissions increase substantially in the past year. (ecoRI)
ALSO:
GRID:
POLICY: Connecticut lawmakers consider an omnibus climate bill with 17 multi-part initiatives that the bill’s sponsor says are “more … carrot than stick,” but some are concerned about proposed solar changes. (CT Mirror)
FLOODS: Several New York City lawmakers call on federal emergency management officials to support the city’s applications for roughly $117 million worth of flood mitigation and climate resiliency projects. (Brooklyn Eagle)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
NUCLEAR: Federal nuclear regulators cite the Pilgrim nuclear power plant’s decommissioning firm for improper use of clean-up funds, including using $84,000 to sponsor parades and holiday celebrations. (Boston Globe)
SOLAR:
WIND: Delaware state park officials will hold a meeting next week on how US Wind’s proposed power lines could affect recreation at the Delaware Seashore State Park. (news release)
UTILITIES: A mild winter has helped New York’s utilities catch up on capital projects, like new transformer lines and maintenance work. (Spectrum News 1)
EMISSIONS: The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission approves new rules requiring public companies to disclose greenhouse gas emissions and climate risks, but will exclude emissions that come from the use of their products. (Grist)
ALSO: Ten states immediately launch a lawsuit challenging the new rule, with opposition from business groups likely to follow. (The Hill)
CLIMATE:
COAL: Several states consider giving regulators more power to step in when coal plants are slated for retirement, with sponsors of legislation contending coal is necessary as renewables expand and electric rates rise. (E&E News)
GRID: The Midcontinent Independent System Operator proposes a second round of transmission upgrades across the Midwest costing as much as $23 billion, but advocates question whether the plan sufficiently anticipates future clean energy needs. (Energy News Network)
OIL & GAS: Mexico stands to become a major player in the global liquified natural gas market, but the Biden administration’s pause on permitting LNG export facilities has delayed that prospect and given climate activists more time to fight back. (Inside Climate News)
POLLUTION:
EFFICIENCY:
GRID: A report predicts energy-intensive semiconductor manufacturing facilities planned for Arizona and Idaho could strain power grids and increase demand for fossil fuel-generated electricity. (Verge)
CARBON CAPTURE: South Dakota lawmakers pass three bills regulating carbon pipelines, but remain divided on whether the new rules — praised by the ethanol industry — go far enough to protect landowners. (South Dakota Searchlight)
GRID: Conservation groups file a new lawsuit seeking to halt construction on a nearly completed $650 million transmission line that would cross a national wildlife refuge across the Mississippi River. (WPR)
ALSO:
TRANSPORTATION: The founder of an electric bike-sharing company is determined to make the operation successful in Youngstown, Ohio, by scaling appropriately and focusing on community needs. (Energy News Network)
PIPELINES:
CLEAN ENERGY:
SOLAR: A Detroit neighborhood is removed from consideration for a series of city-backed solar projects amid local opposition. (Planet Detroit)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES: EV startup Rivian pauses construction on a $5 billion manufacturing plant in Georgia to instead produce a new model at an existing plant in Illinois. (Associated Press)
COAL: Republican lawmakers in four Midwest states are part of a movement to pass legislation that props up retiring coal plants, even though ratepayers may foot the bill as coal fails to compete on price with clean energy. (E&E News)
EFFICIENCY: Seven years after buying a dilapidated Detroit duplex for $1,700, a homeowner completes a $275,000 renovation into a net-zero home for low-income renters. (Planet Detroit)
COMMENTARY: Michigan State University researchers say Detroit residents are more likely to support solar projects in the city if they can benefit financially. (The Conversation)
The Biden administration spent the last year preparing to roll out one of the biggest emissions-fighting regulations the U.S. has ever seen. Now, one of its most ambitious provisions may not happen.
As far as climate regulations go, this one was pretty big: The U.S. EPA would require all new and existing fossil fuel plants to sharply cut or capture their emissions in the next decade, or else face shutdown. But now, the agency has decided to exempt the nation’s 2,000 or so existing gas plants, E&E News and other sources reported last week.
The EPA said that it’s instead planning a “stronger, more durable” rule for existing gas plants that also would crack down on how they pollute nearby, often disadvantaged communities. But the New York Times reports that agency officials also worried the rule could be overturned in court, and that it wouldn’t help get skeptical voters on President Biden’s side before the election.
Whatever comes next, if it doesn’t get done well before November, the EPA may miss its chance to regulate gas plant emissions altogether.
It’s only been a few weeks since reports suggested the EPA would also weaken its proposed tailpipe emissions rule, which would push automakers to speed up their transition to electric vehicles. But after automakers raised concerns about EV costs and still-weak charging infrastructure, it too may be on the chopping block.
🌎 Kerry’s last stand: As John Kerry steps down as U.S. climate envoy, he made a final push for phasing out new gas infrastructure construction and cautioned that capturing carbon emissions won’t replace the need to decarbonize. (The Guardian)
🛰️ Measuring methane: A methane-tracking satellite launched Monday, and aims to collect emissions data and map out leaking oil and gas infrastructure around the world. (NPR)
💰 Rural clean energy boost: The U.S. Department of Energy announces $366 million for rural renewable energy projects across 20 states and 30 tribal nations. (The Hill)
💸 Cracking down on utility spending: At least a dozen states seek to limit utilities from spending ratepayer money on lobbying, advertising, and other costs in the wake of corruption scandals like the FirstEnergy scandal unfolding in Ohio. (States Newsroom, Floodlight/Mother Jones)
🌊 Offshore wind’s ‘terrifying’ threat: Offshore wind industry leaders say former President Trump’s election poses a “terrifying” threat to their already struggling industry, with one official saying that “anyone who is telling themselves that they’ll find a way around it is kidding themselves.” (E&E News)
☀️ A big leap for solar: A clean energy group’s analysis finds a $7 billion federal program is on track to help more than 700,000 lower-income households install solar and storage systems, making it the largest such investment in U.S. history. (Canary Media)
🔥 Energy storage heats up: At least 30 startups look to store renewable power by heating up rocks and other materials, hoping thermal storage can solve solar and wind’s intermittency challenges. (Canary Media)
🧟 Zombie hunt: Environmental groups propose policies that could help states clean up and repurpose nearly 1 million acres of idled, unreclaimed “zombie” coal mines across 12 states. (Daily Yonder)
OIL & GAS: An Ohio judge dismisses environmental groups’ request to halt a state commission’s plan to start accepting bids for oil and gas drilling under state park and wildlife areas. (Energy News Network)
AIR POLLUTION: Chicago environmental justice advocates score a “significant” victory as the U.S. EPA directs Illinois to make sweeping changes to its permitting process for polluting industries in neighborhoods. (Grist)
PIPELINES:
UTILITIES: In seeking to ban campaign contributions from utilities, a Michigan lawmaker says it’s much cheaper for companies to buy political influence than invest in grid reliability. (Michigan Advance)
CLEAN ENERGY: Michigan regulators will hold a public hearing next week in Detroit to gather input on carrying out sweeping new clean energy laws. (MLive)
SOLAR: A $2.4 million solar installation coming to a Twin Cities-area corrections facility is part of a broader clean energy plan for Minnesota’s most populous county. (Star Tribune)
CLIMATE: An Indiana researcher says localized actions and advocacy to help curb climate change could help prevent forecasted damages to local ecosystems and rising precipitation. (Indianapolis Star)
RENEWABLES:
ELECTRIC VEHICLES: A nascent movement of moms across the country is pushing for schools to transition to electric buses amid mounting evidence on the health harms of childrens’ exposure to diesel buses. (Associated Press)
GRID:
CLIMATE: Federal regulators are scrambling to implement policies to cut heat-trapping emissions and meet U.S. climate obligations in case the White House changes hands after the 2024 election. (Bloomberg)
ALSO:
HYDROGEN: An anticipated Supreme Court ruling could help hydrogen producers in their challenge to the 45V tax credit, which aims to ensure “green” hydrogen is produced from new clean energy resources. (E&E News)
OIL & GAS:
WIND:
UTILITIES: A new Virginia commission to provide state lawmakers more guidance on increasingly complicated utility and energy bills could give new life to stalled proposals to restrict utilities’ spending and introduce more competition for wind and solar. (Energy News Network)
POLLUTION: Chicago environmental justice advocates score a “significant” victory as the U.S. EPA directs Illinois to make sweeping changes to its permitting process for polluting industries in neighborhoods. (Grist)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES: A nascent movement of moms across the country is pushing for schools to transition to electric buses amid mounting evidence on the health harms of childrens’ exposure to diesel buses. (Associated Press)
COAL: Arizona regulators reject a utility’s proposed coal community transition fund aimed at helping the Navajo Nation weather mine and power plant retirements in the northern part of the state and New Mexico. (NM Political Report)
POLITICS: Utah lawmakers pass legislation amending state energy policy to prioritize dispatchable power sources, including fossil fuel generation, over clean energy. (Utah News Dispatch)
HYDROPOWER: The Biden administration and four Northwest tribal nations sign an agreement opening the door to breaching four hydropower dams in Washington state to restore fish populations. (Tri-City Herald)
EMISSIONS: The U.S. EPA plans to weaken its power plant emissions rule by excluding existing natural gas plants from the regulation, instead promising a “comprehensive” rule that will also address local pollutants that affect neighborhoods surrounding the plants. (E&E News)
ALSO: The change gets support from environmental justice groups, but climate-focused Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse says the delay may cost the EPA its chance to regulate existing gas plants altogether. (E&E News)
OVERSIGHT: President Biden nominates three new members, two Democrats and one Republican, to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. (Utility Dive)
UTILITIES:
ELECTRIC VEHICLES: The Biden administration plans to probe Chinese-made “smart cars” that can track drivers’ whereabouts as China increases its foothold in the electric vehicle market. (Associated Press)
GRID: States across the country consider legislation on grid-enhancing technologies that maximize current transmission and increase renewable energy capacity. (E&E News, subscription)
WIND:
PIPELINES:
EFFICIENCY: The Biden administration announces new washer and dryer efficiency standards. (Grist)
SOLAR: A pollinator scorecard developed at Michigan State University helps solar developers mitigate the effects of utility-scale projects when applying for permits. (Interlochen Public Radio)
CLIMATE:
OIL & GAS:
CRYPTOCURRENCY: The Biden administration appears to have reached a settlement with crypto miners after the planned collection of energy usage data led to a lawsuit by a Texas nonprofit that represents the industry. (Utility Dive)
CLIMATE: State and local governments, including those in Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin, are preparing applications for a $5 billion federal grant program to implement big ideas in climate action plans. (Energy News Network)
EFFICIENCY: The home builder lobby is mobilizing members to fight stronger energy-efficient building standards, inflating upfront costs and ignoring how efficiency measures could quickly pay for themselves through lower energy bills. (Washington Post)
UTILITIES:
GRID:
CARBON CAPTURE: A North Dakota environmental group says a $300,000 public contract to a consultant to educate residents about carbon capture is essentially lobbying for the practice. (North Dakota Monitor)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
SOLAR: A developer begins early siting work for a planned 1,400-acre solar project in southwestern Indiana. (WEVV)
COMMENTARY: A retired Michigan minister and columnist says state lawmakers should pass a pair of bipartisan bills that would open community solar in the state. (Holland Sentinel)
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