Duke Energy Carolinas filed a new renewable-energy program with the N.C. Utilities Commission earlier this month, after the company was partly influenced by Fossil Free N.C. State.
Fossil Free is an environmental activist group that seeks to eliminate dependence on fossil fuels in the UNC-System, and earlier this semester, two members met with representatives from Duke Energy to discuss the renewable-energy program.
The Green Source Rider is an experimental program designed to give energy-intensive customers, such as manufacturers, data centers, college campuses and big-box retailers, the option of offsetting some or all of their energy consumption with renewable energy, according to a Duke Energy press release.
Jaclyn Mills, a junior in plant and soil science, said she, and other members of Fossil Free, initially decided to pursue a meeting with Duke after they read about requests from large tech companies, such as Google, for greener energy in North Carolina.
“We heard about [the requests from Google] and thought: ‘Hey, the UNC-System is a very good customer of Duke Energy, and we also want more renewable energy, so it seems like this could be something that could work for both of us,’” Mills said. “That’s why we were meeting to see what the tariff entailed and to see if it would be beneficial to the University.”
Ultimately, though, Mills said this was more of a step forward than a win.
“It’s not exactly what will be the best solution for the university system,” Mills said.
This is largely due to the expensive nature of the program. Duke will charge a $500 monthly fee to participate, plus .02 cents per kilowatt hour of renewable energy produced or procured. According to WiseGeek.com, using a 100 watt light-bulb for 10 hours would equal 1 kilowatt hour.
“It’s awesome that these tech companies have the money to get more renewable energy, but as a school system that’s constantly faced with budget cuts, that’s going to feasible for us,” Mills said.
Also, even if the NCUC allowed Duke to implement its program, very little on N.C. State’s campus would be eligible. Only new loads—or parts of new or expanded facilities—added to campus after June 30, 2012 could utilize the renewable energy.
“Long story short, we can’t get more renewable energy for Harrelson Hall because that was built a long time ago,” Mills said. “It wouldn’t be able to drastically change our energy mix, even if it was economically feasible. We know we’re going to have to take smaller steps to get there, but the fact that this tariff is offered to new loads, is a place we see for improvement.”
Mills said Fossil Free has no plans to meet with Duke in the near future. Instead, the group is turning its gaze toward the Association of Student Governors, a statewide, student-run organization whose goal is to lobby for and represent students at the UNC Board of Governors.
Hannah Frank, a freshman in nutrition science, said she and other Fossil Free members are trying to get all student body presidents across the UNC-System to sign a clean energy resolution. N.C. State Student Body President Alex Parker has already signed it.
“He was very willing to sign it,” Frank said. “Alex is looking on getting us on the agenda for the next ASG meeting, to present to them.”
Frank said she hopes the ASG president, Robert Nunnery, who attends UNC-Pembroke, will present Fossil Free’s ideas to the board of governors.
Alli Kenlan, a freshman in environmental sciences, said the resolution will help ensure the UNC-System is meeting its energy goals.
“Over the next 20 years, Duke Energy, the UNC School System’s main utility provider, is only calling for a 1 percent increase in their renewable energy portfolio,” the SBP endorsement letter that Alex Parker signed said. “Yet the UNC-System’s sustainability policy mandates we achieve carbon neutrality ‘by 2050 at the latest.’ Without adopting a clean energy transition plan which includes more energy efficiency and distributed renewable energy storage, this commitment is unattainable.”
Kenlan said she plans to present to the ASG at the group’s meeting this February at N.C. State.
“Hopefully all the student body presidents will have already signed it,” Kenlan said. “We hope they’re really interested. We hope that not just N.C. State but all the schools support us. Hopefully, we’ll get that reaction. We hope they think we’re something different.”
