Introduced by Rep. John Szoka (R-Cumberland) in March, House Bill 245 would give universities and other power consumers the opportunity to save money on electricity, ramp up their sustainability efforts and potentially own renewable energy technology with little capital expense.
"What this bill does is it makes it easy for universities for the first time to finance renewable energy projects for their campuses," said Allison Eckley, communication coordinator for the NC Sustainable Energy Association, which supports the bill.
Currently, universities are not eligible for the solar tax credit that residents receive from federal and state governments. Because of the high cost of capital to buy renewable energy equipment up front, few universities can justify the expense or have the money to pay for it. The few campuses that do install solar panels or wind turbines in North Carolina typically receive donations that cover the cost.
On top of that, one utility provider holds a monopoly over energy in the state, including solar. As a result, universities that want to invest in renewable energy buy the technology up front and pay higher prices for the power they use. But H.B. 245 would open up the energy market to competitors and provide flexible financing options for customers including universities.
If this bill passes, third parties that are not public utilities could operate renewable energy facilities on a customer's property without any of the current restrictions on sales and without being regulated as a public utility. They just have to meet two requirements: Provide no more than 125 percent of the power universities typically use annually and report their construction plans to the Utilities Commission before they start building renewable energy facilities.
Instead of coming up with a major chunk of change to buy renewable energy equipment, universities would make payments to renewable energy developers for the equipment and reap the benefits right away. Like a car deal, both parties would agree to financing terms such as monthly payments, and the university would start paying for power once the developers install the technology on campus.
Ironically, North Carolina energy providers have helped out-of-state universities including Georgetown save money with agreements like this, but they can't bring their solar power to local universities under current state law. By allowing them to install solar technology on university campuses, this bill would bring those savings home.
