An alliance of diverse North Carolina faith leaders today questions Duke Energy and the NC General Assembly for having placed strict limits on solar energy development at precisely the time that dramatic clean energy progress is needed to address the climate crisis. Telling the unvarnished truth about the effect of last year’s energy bill on solar progress in our state, they call for strong and decisive action.
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N.C. Supreme Court To Hear Appeal Over Church Solar Project – WFAE
The state Supreme Court will hear arguments Tuesday on whether it’s legal for anyone other than a public utility to sell electricity in North Carolina. The case began in 2015 when the environmental group NC WARN installed solar panels on a Greensboro church rooftop, then began selling electricity to the church. NC WARN notified state regulators immediately, setting the stage for a legal challenge to the state’s ban on so-called “third-party” sales of electricity.
Before state Supreme Court, Duke Energy lawyer calls NC WARN’s solar agreement with church “almost exploitative” — The Progressive Pulse
The sun has risen and set nearly 1,100 times since NC WARN installed a small solar power system on the roof of Faith Community Church in Greensboro. And since that time in May 2015, the Durham-based environmental nonprofit has been fined $60,000 by the NC Utilities Commission — the penalty was later rescinded — and has taken its case to the Court of Appeals, which ruled 2–1 against NC WARN. The group appealed and today argued before the state’s highest court that it should be allowed to provide solar energy to the church.
More media coverage
Court sees if church solar panels break electricity monopoly — The Washington Post
North Carolina’s highest court is taking up a case that could force new competition on the state’s electricity monopolies. The state Supreme Court on Tuesday will consider the Utilities Commission’s decision to fine clean-energy advocacy group NC WARN for putting solar panels on a Greensboro church’s rooftop and then charging it below-market rates for power.
The oceans’ circulation hasn’t been this sluggish in 1,000 years. That’s bad news. — The Washington Post
The Atlantic Ocean circulation that carries warmth into the Northern Hemisphere’s high latitudes is slowing down because of climate change, a team of scientists asserted Wednesday, suggesting one of the most feared consequences is already coming to pass. The Atlantic meridional overturning circulation has declined in strength by 15 percent since the mid-20th century to a “new record low,” the scientists conclude in a peer-reviewed study published in the journal Nature. That’s a decrease of 3 million cubic meters of water per second, the equivalent of nearly 15 Amazon rivers.
Imagine a Clean Energy Future — Art Contest
Duke delays plans for CHP plant, to focus on biogas options — Duke Today
Why Duke should say no to Duke — The Charlotte Observer
Today’s college students face a common challenge. One way or another, global climate change touches, or will touch, every aspect of their lives, from where they live and how they work to what they eat. Colleges and universities have an obligation to prepare them to be part of the solution . Our leading research institutions have a special role to play in helping to cut the dangerous carbon pollution that’s driving climate change, by showing how to shift away from the fossil fuels of the past toward cleaner, smarter ways to power our future.
Duke delays construction of proposed power plant indefinitely — The Chronicle
Duke has decided to delay construction indefinitely of a proposed Combined Heat and Power (CHP) plant, the University announced Friday. Instead, the University will pursue opportunities to employ biogas and other fuels for its energy. The proposed plant has drawn considerable criticism on campus and in the community, as groups including the Duke Climate Coalition and NC WARN have opposed the construction of the natural gas-powered facility.
How Elon Musk’s big Tesla battery is changing Australia’s power landscape — Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The world’s biggest lithium-ion battery — built by tech billionaire Elon Musk’s company Tesla last year — has survived its first summer in South Australia’s mid-north. And according to a new report by the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO), it’s outperforming coal and gas generators on some key measures.