Governor Roy Cooper released the following statement on HB 589
Published: Wednesday, June 7th, 2017 @ 12:56 am
By: Governor's Office
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State Rep. Chris Millis says the renewable energy industry hoodwinked North Carolina about the costs of giving special deals to renewable producers, which exploded from an initial projection of less than $5 million to $1.6 billion in payouts through 2016
Published: Friday, May 26th, 2017 @ 5:11 pm
By: John Locke Foundation
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Two highly regarded Republican political consultants told an audience of state lawmakers, lobbyists, and renewable-energy entrepreneurs Tuesday they should consider government intervention into the renewable energy market a "slam dunk" conservative issue that wins at the ballot box
Published: Tuesday, May 23rd, 2017 @ 9:18 pm
By: John Locke Foundation
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Consumers are paying a lot more than they realize to prop up the renewable energy industry in North Carolina, even though a section of their bills supposedly lists the cost
Published: Wednesday, April 19th, 2017 @ 1:05 pm
By: John Locke Foundation
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The facility now known as the Amazon Wind Farm was approved by state regulators after they were told it would provide part of the electric power necessary for the state to satisfy renewable energy mandates passed in 2007 by the General Assembly
Published: Friday, April 7th, 2017 @ 4:17 pm
By: John Locke Foundation
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The Nash County Republican sat through two legislative meetings in two weeks hearing Duke Energy officials describe subsidies and carve-outs handed over to the solar energy industry at taxpayer expense
Published: Thursday, March 23rd, 2017 @ 5:46 pm
By: John Locke Foundation
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Rep. Jimmy Dixon, R-Duplin, wants to scale back North Carolina’s renewable energy mandates and find out how much renewable power actually goes on the grid.
Published: Sunday, March 12th, 2017 @ 6:02 pm
By: John Locke Foundation
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A new study authored by energy expert Dr. Timothy Considine of the University of Wyoming finds that North Carolina's 12 percent renewable portfolio standard (RPS) will increase electricity prices by 42 percent by 2020, and cost the Tar Heel State up to 50,000 jobs.
Published: Tuesday, November 15th, 2016 @ 7:52 pm
By: Civitas Insitute
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The federal government issued tax credits in North Carolina approaching a half-billion dollars for renewable energy investment in the five most recent years for which records are available, and high-income earners have benefited the most from the tax favors
Published: Thursday, October 6th, 2016 @ 2:22 am
By: John Locke Foundation
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In the Tar Heel State, government mandates require that 12.5 percent of electricity must come from wind, solar, and other forms of renewable energy by 2021.
Published: Friday, September 30th, 2016 @ 11:02 pm
By: Civitas Insitute
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Today, the Civitas Institute released a new study authored by energy expert Dr. Timothy Considine of the University of Wyoming, which finds that North Carolina’s 12 percent renewable portfolio standard (RPS) will increase electricity prices by 42 percent by 2020 and destroy 50,000 jobs by 2020
Published: Monday, September 26th, 2016 @ 4:48 pm
By: John Locke Foundation
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As part of Governor Pat McCrory's 'Driving Change' initiative to improve customer service and decrease wait times at the Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV), more than 500,000 drivers have now taken advantage of online license renewals saving more than 248,000 hours in DMV office lines
Published: Thursday, September 15th, 2016 @ 10:26 am
By: McCrory Communications
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Destroying property and taking things from people doesn't grow the economy. Sounds rather obvious? That's why lobbyists come armed with "economic impact" studies.
Published: Friday, April 29th, 2016 @ 11:55 am
By: John Locke Foundation
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Two leading legislative critics of tax incentives to the renewable energy industry have not taken issue with an unusual new program used by Duke Energy Progress allowing high-consumption electricity customers using traditional energy to claim their plants are powered by renewable sources
Published: Sunday, February 21st, 2016 @ 9:11 am
By: John Locke Foundation
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Governor Pat McCrory joined 28 states in asking the U.S. Supreme Court to halt the Environmental Protection Agency's federal power plan while a legal challenge makes its way through the lower courts.
Published: Saturday, January 30th, 2016 @ 4:37 am
By: McCrory Communications
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State officials, lawmakers, and renewable energy consultants attempted Tuesday to downplay the $937.8 million cost of tax credits sought under the state's new Safe Harbor Act - a total more than five times higher than initial projections.
Published: Wednesday, January 13th, 2016 @ 2:34 am
By: John Locke Foundation
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State officials, lawmakers, and renewable energy consultants attempted Tuesday to downplay the $937.8 million cost of tax credits sought under the state's new Safe Harbor Act - a total more than five times higher than initial projections.
Published: Wednesday, January 13th, 2016 @ 1:44 am
By: John Locke Foundation
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For decades, energy costs have been manipulated by state government subsidies. Just like other subsidies, whether for the film industry, automobile manufacturers, or even specific companies, special treatments transfer the tax burden from the recipients of the subsidies to others, creating unfair...
Published: Tuesday, January 12th, 2016 @ 4:03 am
By: John Locke Foundation
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"Since 2012," the Apple web site boasts, "all our data centers have been powered by 100 percent renewable energy sources."
Published: Sunday, January 10th, 2016 @ 11:20 am
By: John Locke Foundation
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A novel justification for governments heavily subsidizing otherwise unsustainable, expensive, inefficient renewable energy is to argue that all energy sources get subsidies. The general assertion is true as far as that goes. Still, the argument is often used as a variant of...
Published: Friday, January 8th, 2016 @ 11:16 pm
By: John Locke Foundation
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The final batch of solar and other renewable energy projects requested under the "safe harbor" law enacted in April by the General Assembly could cost North Carolina taxpayers as much as $937,804,785 in credits, according to aggregated figures released Wednesday by the North Carolina Department...
Published: Thursday, January 7th, 2016 @ 7:42 pm
By: John Locke Foundation
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Two prominent state lawmakers pushing to make North Carolina's energy policy more friendly to consumers say they will press vigorously for freezing or reducing state mandates to use more renewable energy when the General Assembly returns for the 2016 short session.
Published: Wednesday, January 6th, 2016 @ 10:40 pm
By: John Locke Foundation
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The Tennessee Valley Authority produced a recent study that found the premium it pays to solar energy producers is about 67 percent higher than solar's actual value (about 12 cents per kilowatt versus 7.2 cents/kw). As reported in the Chattanooga Times Free Press...
Published: Wednesday, January 6th, 2016 @ 5:52 pm
By: John Locke Foundation
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Solar energy is said to be renewable because it is "naturally replenished." One source defines solar power as renewable because "there is an endless supply." But the truth of the matter is that in any meaningful technological, economic, or practical sense solar is anything but renewable...
Published: Wednesday, January 6th, 2016 @ 1:19 pm
By: John Locke Foundation
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This year's legislative session turned out to be an ideological struggle, not between Republicans and Democrats, but between two factions within the Republican Party. (The factions exist outside the GOP as well, but Republicans control the governor's office and hold supermajorities to make...
Published: Wednesday, October 28th, 2015 @ 5:45 am
By: John Locke Foundation
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This week's newsletter takes a look at renewable energy facilities in the news. For example, a new study from the Carnegie Institution for Science and Stanford University found a surprising (to researchers) ecological cost of solar installations in California, which has a much more aggressive...
Published: Sunday, October 25th, 2015 @ 10:14 pm
By: John Locke Foundation
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Governor Pat McCrory announced that more North Carolinians are already taking advantage of new customer-friendly options at the state's Division of Motor Vehicles. Online driver license renewals have increased by more than 2,000 to 6,500 issuances during the five days since the program's full launch
Published: Thursday, October 22nd, 2015 @ 5:32 pm
By: McCrory Communications
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Despite earlier claims by Iberdrola Renewables officials that the $400 million, 300-megawatt Amazon Wind Farm that will cover 22 acres near Elizabeth City would be built totally from company funds, another Iberdrola official says the project requires some tax incentives to be viable economically.
Published: Monday, October 19th, 2015 @ 9:09 pm
By: John Locke Foundation
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This year's legislative session turned out to be an ideological struggle, not between Republicans and Democrats but between two factions within the Republican Party. This tension goes to the heart of one's belief in free markets as the most moral and efficient way to organize economic activity...
Published: Monday, October 19th, 2015 @ 10:02 am
By: John Locke Foundation
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Governor Pat McCrory announced today that online driver license renewal will now be available statewide by the N.C. Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV). The improvement is part of the governor's "Driving Change" initiative which is focused on improving customer service at the DMV through technology...
Published: Monday, October 12th, 2015 @ 5:32 pm
By: McCrory Communications
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The FY 2015-16 North Carolina state budget has finally been finalized. Was it worth the wait? Rather than wading through 400 pages of text, you can read here about the ten most interesting and important aspects of the budget in this article.
Published: Saturday, October 3rd, 2015 @ 4:40 pm
By: Civitas Insitute
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This series, entitled "Cut This, Go Home," includes several budget items that should no longer receive taxpayer funding because they fall well outside the legitimate, core functions of government.
Published: Wednesday, September 30th, 2015 @ 11:01 pm
By: Civitas Insitute
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An interesting item suddenly appeared this week in the N.C. Senate farm bill. This item made its appearance a few short days after the new state budget was finally approved. Among other things, the new budget ended North Carolina's longtime, exceedingly generous 35 percent investment tax credit...
Published: Monday, September 28th, 2015 @ 12:06 am
By: John Locke Foundation
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The term "stakeholders" is used in policy debates frequently. It sounds good and steeped in important involvement. It seems less detached and predatory than "interested parties." It's an accepted convention of speech.
Published: Sunday, September 27th, 2015 @ 11:58 pm
By: John Locke Foundation
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