news-record.com

It's cold, and it might snow, but this year brings a sunnier forecast for energy in North Carolina.

The state's largest utility, Duke energy, which supplies the Greensboro area, is beginning to generate electricity from solar power. In one of its first initiatives, it's installing rooftop solar panels at nonresidential customer sites, including a building owned by Highwood Properties on Brigham Road in Greensboro.

State law requires Duke and other power companies to derive 12.5 percent of retail sales from renewable sources by 2021. The mix will include wind and animal waste. There are obstacles to achieving the goal, including higher costs, but relying less on coal will produce environmental benefits and developing new technologies will improve economic opportunities.

Climate change might be a driving force behind the renewable energy movement, but finding new ways of generating electricity must be on the agenda for other reasons, Duke CEO Jim Rogers wrote in an article for the Charlotte Observer recently.

Regardless of global warming concerns, or government regulations, Rogers wrote, "we would still have to retire and replace nearly every power plant we operate today within 40 years due to normal aging and technological obsolescence."

The next generation of power plants will be cleaner, more efficient and make use of more renewable energy sources. Coal is still part of Duke's future plans, as is natural gas. The company will "continue to explore nuclear power as our main generation source," Rogers wrote. Duke has proposed new nuclear plants in South Carolina and Ohio.

He didn't go into detail about costs, but those are bound to rise with new plant construction -- one reason the N.C. Utilities Commission late last year granted Duke a two-year rate increase of 7 percent. Unless they step up conservation, Americans will be paying more to heat and cool their homes.

Rogers acknowledged the global warming debate but argued that it's not the most important issue:

"We could continue to debate the science and not act until there is absolutely no doubt that harmful climate change is upon us. But while we chatter, the Europeans, China and India are moving forward to take the lead in creating new energy technologies.

"Meanwhile, our nation's opportunity to create jobs, reduce dependence on foreign oil and make U.S. industry more competitive will be lost."

North Carolinians should want their power providers to lead the way in creating and implementing cleaner, more efficient energy technologies, which will help contribute to a better economic climate in the long run.