Duke Energy and Progress Energy are pushing state politicians to make customers pay years in advance for power plants that aren’t needed and might never be built. Across the political spectrum, people are rejecting this corporate welfare.

• 70% of North Carolina Voters firmly reject the power companies’ Annual Rate Hikes bill according to a bi-partisan 2011 poll.
• North Carolina voters are adamant: Rising electricity rates are already harming seniors, families and businesses, and causing the price of everything to go up and up.
• Duke Energy and Progress Energy want the Annual Rate Hikes bill because the free market refuses to gamble on financially risky nuclear plant construction.
• In Florida similar legislation led to annually rising rates for a Progress nuclear plant that has quadrupled in price and won’t open for at least 12 years. The result has been bipartisan consumer revolt.
• The Duke-Progress business plan is to raise rates every year even though long-term electricity demand is falling and new power plants are not needed.
• Other states are avoiding new power plants by developing energy-saving programs that hold down power bills and generate thousands of jobs.

Tell your legislator to stop annual increases in our power bills. Call the legislative switchboard at 919-733-4111 and ask them to put you through to your state representative.

Why should North Carolina get stuck with last century’s energy plan that kills jobs while rewarding a single industry: investor-owned utilities?

Click HERE for more information on this campaign.

AIRE participated in the May 5th Climate Impacts Day, a global day of awareness orchestrated by the nonprofit 350.org intended to connect the dots between extreme weather and climate change. Concerned citizens in over 180 countries rallied together to discuss solutions and take group photos portraying how climate change is already affecting their local region. The Boone Climate Movement represented the High Country by hosting a cookout and community forum, complete with free local food, a panel discussion with local experts, live music, and a community art project. Despite intermittent clouds and rain, the event had a great turnout, with approximately 200 attendees.

The focus of the forum consisted of three discussion areas: climate science, environmental impacts, and solutions. At one point there was a group brainstorm of potential and existing solutions to climate change and other related issues. The energy and enthusiasm of those in attendance was palpable; people were eager to learn, share, and act on ideas. A local movement mailing list was formed from the event, to organize and mobilize the growing network of individuals in the High Country that are interested and motivated to make change.

Last week, the Asheville based nonprofit Green Opportunities hosted a convention of community-development corporations and other nonprofits to collaboratively discuss how they can be more effective in achieving their mission and addressing the many challenges that face change-making organizations. AIRE led a discussion on fostering public/private, nonprofit/for-profit partnerships for installing community-owned renewable energy. The point of reference was a project that AIRE is currently collaborating with several partners on to develop a solar electric system at the Burton Street Community Center in West Asheville. Burton Street Community Center provides services and life-skills training to “at-risk” youth in the neighborhood. AIRE seeks to assist Green Opportunities and Burton Street in demonstrating how enabling communities to produce their own power can be empowering in more ways than one.

AIRE was present at the annual Caring for Creation conference at Lake Junaluska, NC, this past weekend (3/15-3/18). “Creation care” is part of a growing ecumenical and interfaith response to climate change and other environmental concerns. Some of the major highlights of the conference included a keynote address (via Skype) by Bill McKibben, environmental author and founder of 350.org, as well as over 30 other environmental leaders and activists that gave talks and led workshops exploring ways individuals and churches can become more environmentally conscious. AIRE held a workshop on how churches can affordably finance congregational solar projects using tax-equity.

The Board of Directors at the Hospitality House of Boone, NC just met yesterday to approve a proposal to work with AIRE in developing a solar thermal project on the roof of their new facility. For more than 30 years, the Hospitality House has provided food, temporary shelter, and other assistance programs to individuals and families in the High Country that have fallen on hard times. The decision of the Hospitality House Board of Directors culminated after months of conversation about the feasibility of a project at their new, beautiful facility that was recently completed. The shelter is home to dozens of people, 25% of whom are under the age of 12. The shelter is more than just a place to sleep, they offer life counseling and support services to help people get back on their feet and triumph through challenging economic circumstances.

The solar thermal panels will help offset the energy demand used for heating water, saving the Hospitality House money from day 1. AIRE will assist in organizing empathetic investors from the community, as well as utilizing a $25,000 grant from Blue Ridge Electric Membership Corp (BREMCO), to pay for the installation. Empathetic investors will engage in AIRE’s tax-equity project development process to finance the panels and potentially make their money back, before donating the system to the Hospitality House. The plans for the new solar installation is considered part of a broader vision for the shelter, to be an example of the relationship between sustainability and community well being.

Our primary objective at AIRE is to foster the development of community-owned renewable energy. From time to time, a public policy issue comes up that AIRE must weigh in on to honor its mission. One such current policy battle involves the big electric utilities in North Carolina asking you, us, a collective “we” the ratepayers to cover their financial risk.

Two of the groups leading the effort to stop this possibility, North Carolina Interfaith Power & Light (a project of the NC Council of Churches) and NC WARN have been working together for over a year trying to prevent Duke and Progress Energy from getting legislation passed in the General Assembly granting them authority to raise rates for construction of large power plants without first going through the approval process at the NC Utilities Commission. They already have CWIP (Construction Work in Progress) authority under SB 3 – the REPS law. In 2011, Duke and Progress didn’t push this in the GA because of the Fukishima (Japan) nuclear disaster, but these groups expect them to try to get it in the short session.

The issues are framed in economic terms mostly, and as issues of fairness.

In Florida, ratepayers have been paying for pre-construction costs for 2 reactors that now have been cancelled by Progress Energy of Florida, and it looks the consumers will be paying for those costs for years. The fact is that Duke and Progress can’t build nuclear reactors without this form of public financing. They have admitted as much. If they get SCWIP, we can kiss any chance of getting a reasonable and fair playing field for renewables for decades.

Please consider signing the petition and contacting your representative.

The City of Carrboro’s Board of Aldermen passed a resolution Tuesday to move forward with an AIRE feasibility study exploring how the town might create solar electricity at their farmers market.

The township currently spends $15,000 – $18,000 per month on electricity for municipal operations. In an effort to cut energy costs and flatten the rising cost of electricity, Carrboro wants to develop the solar electricity project in partnership with investors who can realize the many attractive tax benefits now being offered for renewable energy projects and can cover 80% – 90% of the installed cost of a renewable energy system.

For more information on this development, see The Daily Tar Heel article HERE.

Infographic via 1 Block Off the Grid (1BOG)

2012 is here and we at AIRE are excited for all that this year will undoubtably bring. One event in particular set to transpire in 2012 is a local solar campaign designed to engage all facets of the Boone community. “Solarize Boone” will seek to install solar on several local nonprofits using our tax-equity finance model, but also with the help of a grassroots fundraising component. We want to harness to the power of small donations alongside capital provided by empathetic investors, to launch a truly collaborative model of innovative social finance. There are many elements for this campaign currently being drawn up… including a way to get the local business community involved. AIRE is reaching out to High Country Local First, another local nonprofit, to help structure a local business participation framework for Solarize Boone. We want to drive up patronage of local stores and establishments, while raising money for community solar projects. By getting local businesses to provide deals and discounts to individuals that donate and become members of Solarize Boone, we can accomplish these goals, and hopefully much more. With any luck, and a lot of hard work, Solarize Boone can be model to be replicated elsewhere… we’re looking at you, Asheville!