news-record.com

Gov. Perdue moved forward on her JobsNOW Green Economy Plan last Friday by signing House Bill 1481 and announcing 14 Green Business Fund grants.

The actions were part of a three-pronged strategy to make North Carolina a leader in green economy jobs by strengthening state leadership in energy policy, making smart investments to create jobs and foster innovation, and providing green-collar workforce training, according to a statement by the governor's office.

The bill: 

• moves the State Energy Office from the Department of Administration to the Department of Commerce, more closely linking the office’s activities with economic development;
• transfers the Residential Energy Conservation Assistance Program from the Department of Health and Human Services to the relocated State Energy Office; and
• strengthens the effectiveness of the Energy Policy Council by improving representation from environmental groups, alternative energy producers and energy services specialists. The council will focus on creating green jobs and protecting the environment.

Perdue appointed Tim Toben chairman of the Energy Policy Council. Toben serves on the N.C. Legislative Commission on Global Climate Change and is chairman of the Board of Visitors at the UNC-Chapel Hill Institute for the Environment.

Perdue also announced 14 awardees from across the state, who will receive up to $99,000 each from the N.C. Green Business Fund (scroll down to the bottom of this announcement to see the entire list of awardees).

Vesture Corp., of Asheboro, was the sole Triad-area awardee and it will use $75,000 to ramp up production of a new home insulation product that uses phase-change materials. These materials are solid at room temperature, but liquefy and absorb and store heat when the temperature becomes warmer. When the temperature drops, the material will solidify and give off heat, warming the house and reducing consumer energy costs.