Amendment to remove S 3's incentives for coal and nuclear fails
Raleigh—The state Senate gave final approval Tuesday to a
measure that would require renewable energy and energy efficiency in the state
while also promoting new coal and nuclear plants.
The bill, “Promote Renewable
Energy/Baseload Generation,” has drawn opposition from Environment North
Carolina for provisions that shift financial risks of building new power plants
from investors to ratepayers, making massive new coal and nuclear generation
facilities in North
Carolina all
but certain.
Sen. Berger offered an
amendment to delete the worst of these provisions, which allows utilities to
pass to ratepayers the costs of constructing new plants before they are
complete. Sens. Berger, Cowell, Kinnaird,
McKissick, Nesbitt, and Snow all voted in favor of the amendment.
“We applaud the Senators who
voted to protect consumers and the environment today,” said Elizabeth Ouzts,
Environment North Carolina State Director.
“North Carolina has a tremendous opportunity to produce clean,
renewable energy from the sun and wind, and to use energy more efficiently,”
said Environment North Carolina State Director Elizabeth Ouzts. “We should maximize that potential before
tipping the scales further towards more dirty, dangerous power sources.”
More than 60 percent of the
state’s electricity today comes from burning fossil fuels, a major source of
the pollution that leads to global warming.
Another 30 percent comes from nuclear power, which poses safety risks
and creates waste that remains hazardous for generations.
Utility interests succeeded
in inserting provisions to ease construction of new power plants as part of a
stakeholder process initiated by the Senate.
The bill now heads to the
House, where it will be heard in as many as three different committees.
“We’re disappointed that the Senate has approved incentives
for more nuclear and coal as part of a clean energy bill,” said Ouzts. “We look forward to working with house
members to make the clean energy bill clean again.”
