North Carolina energy plan looks to clear remaining regulatory hurdles for solar

Existing solar power policies in North Carolina will go under review as part of the state’s draft Clean Energy Plan. Published last week, it includes the retirement of 4GW of coal and the proposal of measures to drive renewable energy more broadly as well as boosting EV adoption in the US state. The broad-scoped document covers the establishment of a state clean energy fund, backing for an offshore wind supply chain and a review of grid infrastructure plans. The draft targets greater solar deployment, both at utility-scale and as part of the contribution from distributed energy resources (DER). The state has an existing competitive framework for solar deployment, meant to drive the roll-out of 4GW of large-scale solar by 2025. That, and other related policies will now be under review to ensure customers, and dominant utility Duke Energy, can acquire the renewable energy they want. This includes assessing the state’s existing community solar programme and developing an obligatory virtual net metering offering from the utilities.