North Carolina

Summary: Applicable only to investor-owned utilities, the new interconnection standards adopted by the North Carolina Utilities Commission as a result of this docket lay out three separate tiers of interconnection, in much the same manner as the FERC standards. Systems over 2MW in size must go through a more extensive study than smaller systems, and application fees scale up in line with system size.

Links:

• State of North Carolina Utilities Commission Docket No. E-100, Sub 101 can be read in its entirety here: Order
• Senate Bill 3, which directed the Commission to establish interconnection standards, can be found here: Legislation
• Visit the DSIRE database and the EPA’s CHP Partnership database for additional information about this standard

Contact:

Kennie Ellis OR Sam Watson
North Carolina Utilities Commission
430 N. Salisbury Street
Raleigh, NC 27611
Kennie Phone: (919) 733-2267 
Sam Phone: (919) 715-7057 
Fax: (919) 733-4744
Kennie E-Mail: Kennie.Ellis@ncmail.net
Sam E-Mail: swatson@ncuc.net
Web site: http://www.ncuc.commerce.state.nc.u

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Description: The North Carolina Green Business Fund, created in 2007, provides funding to North Carolina-based businesses and nonprofits with fewer than 100 employees, as well as state and local governmental entities. Gants may target renewable energy deployment, biomass energy projects, waste reclamation for energy, implementation of energy efficiency technologies and clean distributed generation infrastructure improvements.
 
Links:

• For more information on the North Carolina Green Business Fund, visit the NC Board of Science and Technology website.
• Additional details of the grant program can be found in the DSIRE database.

Contact:
N.C. Board of Science and Technology
ATTN: Green Business Fund Office
301 N. Wilmington Street
1326 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, NC 27699-1326
Phone: (919) 733-6500
Fax: (919) 733-8356
E-Mail: ncbst@nccommerce.com
Website: http://www.ncscienceandtechnology.com

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Summary: Progress Energy Carolinas provides standby service to CHP systems via a contractual agreement that specifies a particular amount of demand capacity, accompanied with a monthly reservation charge. Actual usage is assessed by an energy charge and either the reservation charge or the daily demand charge, whichever is greater. The daily demand charge is calculated from the maximum on-peak demand, multiplied by the number of days that standby service was used in that month. The rate is seen as neutral to CHP. Duke Energy Corporation provides standby service to systems with a very high demand-based rate. A moderate reservation fee is based upon a contract demand is assessed every month. Actual usage is charged through a the very high demand rate. Billing demand is based upon a monthly demand maximum, OR 75% of the contract demand, whichever is higher. This standby rate is seen as not favorable toward CHP.

Links:

• Progress Energy Carolinas standby service rates and be found here, among the rates: Rates
• Duke Energy Corporation’s Schedule PG can be found here: Rate
• Dominion Power North Carolina’s applicable standby rates and tariffs can be found here, and will be summarized at a later date.
• More information about best practices in utility rate design can be found on the EPA’s CHP Partnership website.

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Summary: North Carolina’s Renewable Energy and Energy-Efficiency Portfolio Standard was enacted into law by Senate Bill 3 in August 2007, which established the docket that developed the details of the portfolio standard. The standard requires the state’s investor-owned utilities to supply 12.5% of 2020 retail electricity sales from renewable or efficiency resources by 2021. Up to 25% of the requirements can be met through the deployment of energy efficiency technologies, which explicitly includes CHP systems. After 2018, the proportion that may be met by efficiency technologies is expanded to 40%. Utilities are required to file compliance reports beginning in 2009.

Links:

• State of North Carolina Utilities Commission Docket No. E-100, Sub 113 can be read in its entirety here: Order
• Senate Bill 3, which directed the Commission to establish the portfolio standards, can be found here: Legislation
• Visit the DSIRE database and the EPA’s CHP Partnership database for additional information about this standard

Contact:

Sam Watson
North Carolina Utilities Commission
430 N. Salisbury Street
Raleigh, NC 27611
Phone: (919) 715-7057 
E-Mail: swatson@ncuc.net
Web site: http://www.ncuc.commerce.state.nc.us

Last Updated 08/27/2009

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