Brian O’Hara: Businesses like clean energy mandates

The June 17 Point of View “Counting costs of renewable energy rules” delivered an oft-repeated – but untrue – message about the reason North Carolina’s electricity rates have risen over the past seven years. It’s not because of our renewable energy policies.

Duke Energy has publicly stated that increases in electric rates are the result of “retiring and replacing aging power plants.” Billion-dollar investments in traditional power sources, including the construction of new natural gas plants and the Cliffside coal plant, have driven up electric rates.

The cost of renewable energy, listed directly on our monthly electric bill, costs most customers about 50 cents a month. And in the long run, that small amount actually saves us all money.

Companies like Google, Apple and Facebook recently voiced support for preserving North Carolina’s renewable energy policies and said those policies were part of what attracted them to locate here.

The clean energy industry is growing, and North Carolina has a head start in attracting those jobs and economic development. It would be foolish for our legislature to take a step backward by eliminating renewable energy tax credits or scaling back the policies that have made us a national leader in clean energy.

This story was originally published July 1, 2015 at 4:45 PM with the headline "Brian O’Hara: Businesses like clean energy mandates."