Advocates discuss the rise of renewable energy in the Southeast at webinar

On Wednesday November 13th, advocates and experts across the southeast joined each other in a webinar to discuss their state’s push on renewable energy. In the Southeast, the rise of renewable energy is driven by abundant natural resources, decreasing costs of renewable technologies, supportive state policies, and increasing demand for cleaner energy solutions. 

Environment North Carolina Research & Policy Center Advocate, Emily Mason remarked, “North Carolina is 30th in the nation on wind energy and currently outpaces Florida, Georgia and Virginia. Wind energy is on the rise and continues to be in development.” 

The carbon reduction mandate through HB 951 and the demand for more clean energy sources drives the growth of clean energy sources, including wind energy, in North Carolina. North Carolina is a leader in land based wind in the Southeast due to Amazon Wind in Elizabeth City, a project that came online in 2017. Timbermill Wind is a project located nearby the Elizabeth City site, which is projected for completion by the end of 2024. Offshore wind projects in North Carolina have been leased by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and are in those early stages of environmental surveying and site assessment surveying. 

“Across the Southeast, wind energy development has been driven by bipartisan support, economic opportunity, and energy resilience,” said Karly Lohan from Southeastern Wind Coalition (SEWC). “North Carolina is already a leader in land based wind development, and it is poised to be a second mover in the offshore wind space as well. This utility-scale, carbon-free energy that wind can provide will play an important role in North Carolina’s transition to a diverse and reliable carbon-free future.”

Wind energy provides a clean, renewable source of power, reducing our reliance on fossil fuels, which contribute significantly to air pollution and climate change. Wind power can help us dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions, limit global warming, and ameliorate environmental deterioration. It also protects natural resources for future generations by encouraging better ecosystems and cleaner air, ultimately enhancing global quality of life.