Clean energy tax credits key part of jobs growth in NC, Gov. Josh Stein says
In May, Gov. Josh Stein announced several businesses coming to North Carolina.
In Charlotte, it was AVL Manufacturing, promising to build a new production facility resulting in 325 new jobs.
In Holly Springs, it was biotechnology company Genentech, announcing plans to build a new manufacturing plant with 420 jobs.
In Goldsboro, it was transformer manufacturer Prolec-GE Waukesha, also with a new manufacturing plant, and 330 jobs.
Those are just three of a slew of businesses coming to the state this year.
So it was no surprise that when Stein delivered a speech at the Emerging Issues Forum on energy at N.C. State University this week, the subject went beyond policy to talk about the economy and business.
Good morning and welcome to the Sunday Under the Dome newsletter, which focuses on the governor. I’m Capitol Bureau Chief Dawn Vaughan.
In his speech at N.C. State on Wednesday, Stein said that while the state has more work ahead to reduce pollution and have a clean tech economy, “in many ways, the market demands that we do.”
“Nearly half of the leading companies in the world have a net zero emissions target. Many of these companies want to call North Carolina home. In fact, many of them already do: Amazon, Google, Meta, Toyota, Honeywell. When these companies decided where to invest, they were looking for a strong workforce, a favorable business environment, an excellent quality of life and places where they could get inexpensive, clean and reliable electricity,” Stein said.
He talked about another one of his economic development announcements, held in April in Greenville, when Boviet Solar opened a new solar module factory.
“Boviet is a powerful addition to our supply chain that includes a roster of 220 solar companies that are helping to provide more low-carbon energy sources,” Commerce Secretary Lee Lilley said at the time.
“They have already hired 400 employees, nearly, and they’re going to keep hiring. If things progress as they fully expect, when they get to phase two, that number should increase to over 1,000 employees, making them one of the largest private sector employers in the county of Pitt,” Stein said in his energy speech this past week.
“We are a top 10 state in the nation in the number of clean energy jobs, more than 100,000 workers in the clean energy sector. Unfortunately, some in Congress want to slow our growth,” Stein said, referring to the gutting of clean energy tax credits in the huge U.S. House bill passed this month.
Talking to reporters after his speech, Stein said he’s told North Carolinian members of Congress about “the urgency that we keep those tax credits.”
“Here’s the thing. Companies make investments based on policy, and there has to be certainty, there has to be settled expectations, or else they do not know how to invest,” he said.
“They were told that these credits existed. Many of them have made major business decisions about investing in North Carolina. We’ve got to preserve those credits so that the companies get the bargain that they struck.”
And speaking of taxes, while Stein was talking to reporters I asked him about the current tax battle between the House and Senate budget plans, which you can read about in my recent story.
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