overview

press releases

media contacts

in the news

image downloads

media kit

experts guide

Spring 2004 Newsletter

In this issue:

• Program goals for NC GreenPower
• Renewable energy important for North Carolina
• What green power is and where it comes from
• Producers of green energy located in North Carolina
• How green power is made
• Each of us has a participating role

Program goals for NC GreenPower

The overall goal of NC GreenPower is to encourage the development of renewable energy resources such as the sun, wind, water, and biomass (organic matter).

Through voluntary participation, North Carolina's residential and business community can invest in a cleaner energy future by providing financial incentives to help offset the higher costs of producing renewable "green" power. As a return on their investment, North Carolina's electric consumers will see impact in three important areas to our state:  energy, the environment, and the economy.

The success of NC GreenPower will yield:

• more electricity generated from renewable resources in North Carolina.
• a reduction on the impact of electricity generation on the environment
• increased energy security by providing power from "homegrown" renewable resources.
• increased investment in local renewable power projects, creating a number of new jobs

Renewable energy important for North Carolina

Energy security

As recent blackouts snowstorms, wars, and other disasters have reminded us, a reliable electric supply is essential for life in our modern world. One day, though, the fossil fuels buried in the earth will become depleted, and it will become too expensive to retrieve coal or natural gas for our energy needs. But renewable energy sources, as the name implies, are "renewed" naturally by the earth in a relatively short period of time.

The sun continues to shine, the rain falls, the wind blows, and the plants continue to grow. So by harnessing these renewable energy resources today, we can ensure adequate supplies of clean power for future generations.

Most of us do not realize that more than 98 percent of our current energy resources are imported from out of state or out of country, such as coal from West Virginia and Kentucky, oil from the Middle East, uranium from Russia, and natural gas from Texas, Louisiana, and Canada. If this supply became limited, North Carolina could be faced with power shortages and could record high energy prices. Renewable resources, though, such as the sun, wind, water, and biomass, can be found in abundance right here in North Carolina. So, by developing these green power sources, all of us can take part in ensuring North Carolina's energy independence and to improve our energy security.

Environmental protection

It is essential that we begin to use more green power resources in order to preserve the quality of our air and other elements of our environment. Using renewable energy resources to produce electricity has a reduced impact on our environment when compared with traditional energy sources, such as fossil fuels and nuclear power.

Economic support

One benefit of developing renewable power is not so plain at first sight, but still, it is very important:  it helps support economic development. By their very nature, renewable power resources -- water falling, wind blowing, sunlight shining, crops growing -- are generally used right where they are found, and that is locally. The benefits of that renewable power are felt locally as well:  cleaner, dependent power; environmental protection; preserved natural resources; and support for a stable and secure economy.

Investment in local renewable energy projects can lay the groundwork for a host of new businesses, and that means the creation of new jobs. Job positions such as electricians, surveyors, system installers, maintenance and operations personnel, project developers, retailers, and equipment manufacturers are ones of which to be proud -- each working with the other to bring cleaner power to North Carolina.

Wind farms can provide farmers and other landowners with valuable property leases, while having no real impact on their current operations. Project developers will earn a decent return for supplying renewable energy to North Carolina's power supply, as well as pay local taxes for their profits. And, certain biomass and landfill gas projects can use their waste heat for other businesses such as greenhouses, pottery and glass kilns, wood drying, and vegetable cooling.

Local dollars supporting local projects, benefiting local people and their environment.

Creating this "brighter" future is in the power of each North Carolinian!

What green power is and where it comes from

In terms of the NC GreenPower program, "green power" means electricity that is generated from using renewable energy resources such as sunlight, wind, falling water, and organic matter (the latter is also referred to as biomass or bioenergy). Electricity from renewable sources is considered greener than electricity generated from fossil fuels (primarily coal) because it results in less air pollution and other negative environmental impacts.

In terms of actual renewable energy projects, NC GreenPower will administer a wide range in terms of both scale and scope. A number of residential homeowners probably will install a small (1 kW) solar (or photovoltaic) system and apply for the program, as well as several schools, universities, and government facilities with larger systems.

Farmers along both the mountain ridges and the coastal sounds may consider allowing the installation of utility-scale wind turbines (1 MW each and greater) on their land, and others may install smaller wind systems as well.

Energy from biomass will come from a number of different sources, including community landfills and wastewater treatment plants, crop and animal farms, and sawdust and other wood waste.

Small, low-impact hydropower facilities may generate green power for the program by using the power of falling water.

And, we may even see electricity generated by fuel cells, which operate on pure hydrogen and emit clean water as their only "waste."

Producers of green energy located in North Carolina

The companies and individuals who will provide green power for the program are being chosen through an open selection / bid process, based on cost, availability, size, and other important factors. Final selections for the first round of energy providers will be made in Spring 2004, with the first renewable power projects coming online sometime later in the year.

How green power is made

Nearly all forms of renewable energy ultimately come from the sun, either directly or indirectly. Sunlight for water heating (thermal) or electric production (photovoltaic) both are ways of using the sun's energy directly. Most of the other renewable resources such -- such as hydro power, wind power, and biomass -- are just different ways of storing the sun's energy. The sun heats the air as the earth spins, causing the winds to blow. The sun evaporates water from the seas, which causes the rains to fall and the rivers to flow. And, growing plants capture the sun's energy chemically using photosynthesis.

Photovoltaic (or PV) cells are the only renewable energy technology that converts the sun's energy directly into electricity. All of the rest -- hydro, wind power, and biomass and geothermal and tidal systems (which are not part of the NC GreenPower program) -- rely on some type of spinning turbine to turn a generator, and the generator then creates electricity.

For anyone unfamiliar with the idea, think of a generator as a motor that runs in reverse. Send the right level of electricity down the wires to a motor, and it will start turning. Spin the shaft of a generator by attaching it to a windmill turning in the breeze, and electricity comes out of the wires instead.

Photovoltaics (PV)

Photoelectric cells are formed from materials (usually some type of crystal) that share a unique property. When light shines upon them, these materials release a stream of electrons, causing electricity to flow.

While PV cells currently represent the most expensive form of renewable power, they also offer a number of unique benefits. These remarkable devices have no moving parts, last for years with little to no maintenance, emit no pollutants, and can be sized to power everything from calculators to entire homes.

EPA facility, Research Triangle Park, NC

The new EPA research facility, located in the Research Triangle Park, includes 100 kW of photovoltaic panels as an integral part of its roofing system. This significant investment in renewable power generation reflects the EPA’s commitment to protecting and preserving our environment.

Wind power

For centuries, humans have captured the "free" energy of the wind, using windmills to pump water and grind grain. Our modern version of the farmer's windmill merely spins an electric generator instead of a grindstone or pump.

Still an elegantly simple idea, today's wind turbines range from 1 kW units that can power a remote campsite to utility-scale turbines as large as 2,000 kW that can power thousands of homes each.

These graceful machines operate quietly with no emissions, simply spinning whenever the wind blows to generate power.

Biomass

For our purposes, biomass means almost any organic material. The biomass resource -- food scraps, sawdust, animal waste, or other organic material, is burned to produce heat, or may first be converted into some type of gas or liquid fuel. The heat of this combustion produces steam or other hot gases, which push past the blades of a turbine, causing the turbine to spin. The turbine is connected to the shaft of a generator, which then turns to produce electricity.

Landfill gas projects capture the methane gas that naturally occur inside a landfill as the organic material (biomass) within it decomposes, and then use that methane as a fuel. Anaerobic digesters -- which look like big pressure cookers -- can be filled with food scraps and other organics and used to accelerate the decomposition process, producing methane gas for fuel. In a similar way, wastewater treatment plants and animal waste facilities can collect the methane gas created as bacteria break down the waste products they collect. Some biomass resources -- like sawdust and crop residues -- can be burned directly as a fuel. Efforts also have been successful to turn many of these materials into a synthetic gas or liquid fuel, such as ethanol that can be stored and transported more easily.

Some people have expressed concern that by allowing wood waste to be used as a fuel that NC GreenPower may contribute to unsustainable harvesting of our forests. In recognition of this concern, the rules of the program exclude the use of whole trees or trees cut and chipped for use as a fuel.

NC GreenPower recognizes and encourages responsible and sustainable business practices for forest and wood products management.

Hornsby Bend Wastewater Treatment Facility, Austin, Texas

The Hornsby Bend facility treats solid sewage waste for the city of Austin, Texas. The plant design utilizes eight anaerobic digesters to break down the waste, which together generate enough methane to power two 400 kW engine/generators – enough power for roughly 800 homes. In addition, the facility includes a composting plant to handle household organic solid wastes, and has set aside land for use as a bird sanctuary. Similar power-generating systems could be installed at many existing wastewater treatment plants across North Carolina.

Hydro power

As mentioned earlier, the power of falling water has been used by humans throughout the ages. First used to turn simple water wheels, hydro systems later provided the power needed for the industrial revolution.

Today, they include the largest electric generation stations in history. And still, their core concept remains simple:  the falling water passes through a set of specialized turbine blades which spin, turning a generator and generating electricity.

NC GreenPower will allow only low-impact, small-scale hydro systems to apply for participation in the program. This may include small, run-of-river systems that have laid dormant or operated at a loss for a number of years, or even micro-hydro systems that capture the energy of small streams as they flow down from the hills. In any event, no new dams or other impoundments will be created as part of this program.

Each of us has a participating role

As an NC GreenPower participant, you already have agreed to support the program with your financial contributions. But, your support also is needed to help spread the word about green power and to encourage others to participate in the program.

Remember, as little as $4 per month can help make a difference in North Carolina's renewable energy future. The money contributed to the program is being collected voluntarily by electric utility companies, and the entire amount is being forwarded to NC GreenPower to further encourage the development of renewable energy in North Carolina.

How NC GreenPower works

Tell your family and friends to become a supporter of NC GreenPower by visiting our Web site (www.ncgreenpower.org/participating/index.html) for participating utility information. Or, they can contact us at (919) 857-9000 / (866) 533-NCGP. The amount of their pledge will show up as part of their monthly electric bill -- so, one lump sum payment can be made for both their electric bill and for their NC GreenPower monthly contribution.

As a gift for someone else or in memory of a loved one, direct contributions can be mailed to:

NC GreenPower
ATTN: Accounts Receivable
909 Capability Drive, Suite 2100
Raleigh, NC 27606-3870

Remember, all donations to NC GreenPower are sales-tax free and tax deductible.