The Charlotte, North Carolina, City Council unanimously approved a plan on February 24, 2020 to buy power from a 35MW solar project located in nearby Statesville, North Carolina.[1] The project is expected to produce enough electricity to power the equivalent of 10,000 homes annually. It is also expected to reach 24% of its goal to power municipal buildings with carbon-free energy by 2030. The plan stems from Charlotte’s commitment to having all its municipal buildings and fleet get their energy from carbon free sources by 2030 under the city’s Strategic Energy Action Plan approved in December 2018.[2] The city has a wider goal, the Sustainable and Resilient Charlotte by 2050 Resolution, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions across the community to below 2 tons of carbon dioxide per person per year.[3] In addition to these resolutions, the plan approval developed from Charlotte’s acceptance into Duke Energy’s Green Source Advantage (GSA) green tariff program which gives large energy users in North Carolina the flexibility of selecting and negotiating all price terms directly with a renewable supplier of their choice as opposed to negotiating through the utility.[4]

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zPauL3QA1Wg

[2] https://charlottenc.gov/sustainability/seap/Pages/default.aspx

[3] https://cleanaircarolina.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Sustainable-and-Resilient-Charlotte-Resolution.pdf

[4] https://news.duke-energy.com/releases/more-renewable-energy-options-available-under-duke-energys-green-source-advantage