Southeast

North Carolina

North Carolina is ranked 4th in the nation for solar energy generation, powering 9% of the state’s electricity supply in 2022. The transportation sector accounts for most of the state’s energy use due to the heavily trafficked highways and one of the nation’s busiest passenger airports. Overall, greenhouse gas emissions have fallen by 26% from 2005-2021, with the biggest reductions from the state’s electricity sector.
GHG Reduction Targets
All targets relative to 2005 levels
2025 :

40%

2030 :

50%

2050 :

Net-zero

Governor
Roy Cooper (Democrat)
House Party
Republican Supermajority
Senate Party
Republican Supermajority
Legislative session
4/24/24 - 7/31/24
US Climate Alliance Status
Member

22

Policies Enacted or In Progress
across 6 policy areas

40

Policy Opportunities
across 6 policy areas

Southeast

14 states
This map shows the occurrence of climate policies passed at the state-level. Higher numbers represent more climate policies enacted.

Progress by Policy Area

  • Enacted
  • In-progress
  • Partially Enacted
  • Not Enacted
Glossary of Terms
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Greenhouse Gas Emissions Projections in North Carolina

Created in partnership with
Filters
Status Policy Policy Area Policy Category YR Enacted
Enacted
Empty column

10% renewable energy by 2018 for munis and coops | 12.5% renewable energy by 2021 for investor-owned utilities (IOUs)

Electricity
Energy Plans and Targets 2007
Enacted
Empty column

70% reduction by 2030, relative to 2005 levels, and carbon-neutral emissions by 2050

Establishing Policies
Electricity
Energy Plans and Targets 2021
Enacted
Empty column

North Carolina Clean Energy Plan

Electricity
Energy Plans and Targets 2019
Partially Enacted
Empty column

The State Policy Opportunity Tracker (SPOT) breaks clean energy policies down into “components”, which are binary questions to evaluate policy quality. Higher quality policies have more of their SPOT components fulfilled.

Policy Components
enacted
not-enacted
not-enacted
not-enacted
not-enacted
1/5
Electricity
Clean Energy Generation
Partially Enacted
Empty column

The State Policy Opportunity Tracker (SPOT) breaks clean energy policies down into “components”, which are binary questions to evaluate policy quality. Higher quality policies have more of their SPOT components fulfilled.

Policy Components
enacted
enacted
enacted
not-enacted
not-enacted
not-enacted
not-enacted
not-enacted
not-enacted
not-enacted
not-enacted
3/11
Electricity
Clean Energy Generation
Partially Enacted
Empty column

The State Policy Opportunity Tracker (SPOT) breaks clean energy policies down into “components”, which are binary questions to evaluate policy quality. Higher quality policies have more of their SPOT components fulfilled.

Policy Components
enacted
not-enacted
enacted
not-enacted
not-enacted
enacted
3/6
Electricity
Clean Energy Generation
Not Enacted
Empty column

Community choice aggregation allows local governments to procure power on behalf of their residents, businesses, and municipal accounts from an alternative supplier while still receiving transmission and distribution service from their existing utility provider.

Electricity
Clean Energy Generation
Not Enacted
Empty column

Energy storage targets establish procurement targets for energy storage systems by a certain date, often with interim targets. Targets can vary from broad megawatt (MW) requirements to more specific mandates that focus on the adoption of certain storage technologies.

Electricity
Transmission, Distribution, and Energy Storage
Enacted
Empty column

North Carolina received a C grade from Freeing the Grid.

Electricity
Transmission, Distribution, and Energy Storage 2023
Not Enacted
Empty column

Coal phaseouts establish a target year by which states must end coal-fired power generation.

Electricity
Coal Retirement
Enacted
Empty column

Requires the securitization of 50% of the remaining value of all subcritical coal-fired generating facilities, with the remaining costs to be recovered through energy rates

Establishing Policies
Electricity
Coal Retirement 2021

The State Climate Policy Dashboard tracks only passed policies and does not include bills currently proposed in legislative sessions. The website is intended to illustrate the current status of policies for each state, as well as key resources and model states for each policy.

Much of the information contained in this database is derived from the public domain, with links to resources provided. The information provided is made available solely for general information purposes and does not constitute legal advice. Click here for full Terms of Use.

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