NCSEA advocates for proactive clean energy policies in North Carolina and seeks to defend existing policies. Let’s take a look back at some of the notable energy policy changes and proposals from the NC General Assembly in 2024 and look ahead to 2025.
First the good news:
Commercial Property Assessed Capital Expenditure (C-PACE) Authorized
In June 2024, after years of support from NCSEA, the NC General Assembly passed Senate Bill 802, “C-PACE Program” sponsored by Sens. Michael Lee (R – New Hanover), Todd Johnson (R – Cabarrus, Union), and Michael Lazzara (R – Onslow). The bill authorized a C-PACE (Commercial Property Assessed Capital Expenditure) program for the state. SB802 allows local governments to voluntarily join a program, which will be offered to owners of commercial, industrial, agricultural, nonprofit, and multifamily residential properties with five or more units, to obtain low-cost, long-term financing for improvements for energy efficiency, resiliency, renewable energy, water conservation, and resiliency. C-PACE offers the opportunity for significant project savings for these types of investments. The Economic Development Partnership of NC (EDPNC) and the NC Department of Commerce are developing a toolkit to guide the program, which we expect to see up and running in 2025. Read more about C-PACE financing in NCSEA’s blog here.
Other changes:
Continued Rollbacks of NC Building Codes
Also in June 2024, lawmakers passed Senate Bill 166, “Building Code Regulatory Reform,” sponsored by former Sen. Joyce Krawiec (R – Stokes) and Sens. Steve Jarvis (R – Davidson, Davie) and Paul Lowe (D – Forsyth). NCSEA opposed the bill because it made changes that weakened NC building codes. Building codes are meant to protect the health and safety of buildings and ensure that structures are built to certain energy-efficiency standards. The bill also made changes to NC Building Code Council appointments, which will make it more unlikely that we will see needed updates to state energy codes. North Carolina’s energy codes are stuck at 2009-equivalent, outdated standards. Former Gov. Roy Cooper vetoed SB166, but the veto was overridden in September 2024. Read more about SB166 in NCSEA’s blog here.
Changes to NC Utilities Commission Appointments
Senate Bill 382, “Disaster Relief-3/Budget/Various Law Changes”, sponsored by former Sen. Jim Perry (R – Beaufort, Craven, Lenoir) and Sens. Kevin Corbin (R – Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Haywood, Jackson, Macon, Swain, Transylvania) and Todd Johnson (R – Cabarrus, Union), became law after legislators voted to override former Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto in December 2024. It is a wide-ranging overhaul of moving executive branch power away from recently elected Democrats to Republicans. Among many changes, there are several energy-related provisions in SB382 including:
- Preventing new Gov. Josh Stein (D) from appointing a majority of commissioners on the NC Utilities Commission (NCUC) by giving one of the governor’s appointments to the newly elected state treasurer
- Preventing new Attorney General Jeff Jackson (D) from participating in lawsuits where action by the legislature is being challenged on grounds of constitutionality, and from appealing NCUC-approved rate increases
- Limiting the Attorney General’s Office options for intervening at the NCUC as part of its consumer protection role
- Stripping new Lt. Gov. Rachel Hunt (D) of the power to chair several committees on energy issues and disallowing the lieutenant governor from chairing a legislative committee on energy crisis management
You can read more about SB382 in NCSEA’s blog here.
Supporting Rooftop Solar Leasing
Additionally, in 2024, NCSEA supported House Bill 535, “Solar Capacity Limit Increase”, sponsored by Reps. Kyle Hall (R – Forsyth, Stokes), Erin Paré (R – Wake), Jeff McNeely (R – Iredell), and Becky Carney (D – Mecklenburg). HB535 would have increased the arbitrary rooftop solar leasing cap that is currently set at 1% of the previous five-year average retail contribution to coincident retail peak demand to 10%. Removing or raising this cap would help open the market to companies that offer this attractive option for solar which may make more economic sense than purchasing solar for some customers. Like leasing a car, leasing a solar system is an option for those who do not wish to purchase a solar system. The House passed HB535 in 2023, but the Senate did not take up the bill. Then, the HB535 language was inserted into another energy-related bill: Senate Bill 678, “Clean Energy/Other Changes”. But that language was later removed from the SB678 conference report, so it did not become law that way. HB535 remained eligible for the Senate to take it up in 2024, but the Senate did not do so. Enabling the solar leasing market by removing statutory barriers such as the leasing cap will remain a priority for NCSEA.
Elected Leaders Recognized for Their Commitment to Expanding NC’s Clean Energy Economy
In 2024, NCSEA celebrated legislators who have helped expand economic opportunities in North Carolina through clean energy with our annual Clean Energy Leadership Awards.
Awardees included:
- Former Gov. Roy Cooper, winner of the Clean Energy Leadership Award. During Cooper’s two terms, he cemented his legacy as a champion of clean energy and the significant economic benefits it brings to North Carolina, building the foundation for extraordinary growth in the clean energy sector.
- Rep. Erin Paré, winner of the Representative of the Year Award. Rep. Paré (R – Wake) has stood strong on clean energy issues, including working to increase accessibility through championing a bill that would increase the lease cap on solar.
- Sen. Michael Lee, winner of the Senator of the Year Award. Sen. Lee (R – New Hanover) led the multiyear effort to pass Commercial Property Assessed Capital Expenditure (C-PACE) in North Carolina, which led to Senate Bill 802 being passed in 2024.
- Former Sen. Mike Woodard, winner of the Clean Energy Legacy Award. Woodard (D – Durham) consistently supported clean energy and energy efficiency throughout his six terms in the Senate and played an important role in helping to negotiate House Bill 951 “Energy Solutions for North Carolina.”
Read more about each winner in NCSEA’s press release here.
Looking Ahead to 2025
The upcoming 2025-26 session will be marked by numerous new faces coming to the NC General Assembly and leadership changes within the caucuses. Rep. Destin Hall (R – Caldwell, Watauga) is expected to be the new House Speaker, replacing Tim Moore, who won the election to U.S. Congress. In addition, Sen. Sydney Batch (D – Wake) was elected by her caucus to replace Sen. Dan Blue (D – Wake) as the Senate Democratic leader. Sen. Phil Berger (R – Guilford, Rockingham) will remain the Senate President Pro Tempore. NCSEA will build relationships with new legislators and continue to grow relationships with and encourage new clean energy champions.
In January 2025, the NC General Assembly will enter a so-called “long session” in which the legislature will attempt to pass a state budget. This biennial mission was not accomplished in the 2023-24 session because the House and Senate did not reach an agreement. Nevertheless, the budget will surely be a focus in 2025, and we often see policy provisions added to the budget. NCSEA will be on the lookout to engage with legislators on any energy-related provisions that may be part of the budget negotiations. Traditionally, hundreds of bills are filed by legislators in advance of the to-be-identified bill filing deadline, then there will be a race to meet crossover, the deadline for when a bill must pass at least one chamber to be viable for the biennium. Bills that “make crossover” will be eligible for passage in 2025 or 2026. These deadlines will be set by the chambers at the start of the session.
NCSEA’s focus on defending existing state energy policies that help ensure a market for clean energy will continue. We anticipate facing legislative attacks on clean energy, including possibly North Carolina’s carbon emissions reduction goals, that will require a strategic defensive response.
We’ll also bring proactive policy solutions to legislators that offer ways to expand the clean energy market, remove market barriers, and provide more options for energy customers to lower their bills. NCSEA’s priorities include eliminating the arbitrary cap on solar leasing, enabling community solar, protecting energy self-generation options like solar plus storage, improving options for affordable commercial solar, and prohibiting duplicative energy fees. In addition, we plan to support energy efficiency, grid-enhancing technologies and distributed energy resiliency solutions. As part of this work, we plan to educate and engage legislators about the resiliency benefits of microgrids.
NCSEA relies on our members to educate and inform the organization about clean energy market needs, so please contact the NCSEA policy team if you have questions about our legislative priorities.