ENERGY EFFICIENCY DAY
2024
BY THE GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA
A PROCLAMATION
WHEREAS, reliable and affordable energy is vital to North Carolina’s economic prosperity, energy efficiency is the most cost-effective way to meet our energy needs while reducing pollution and providing critical support for underserved communities including those living in rural areas, low-income individuals and families, renters, agricultural communities, and small businesses; and
WHEREAS, North Carolina has more clean energy jobs in rural areas than any other state in America including more than 82,000 energy efficiency jobs at the end of 2023, with nearly 10 percent held by veterans; energy efficiency continues to be the largest sector of clean energy employment in the Tar Heel state, with over 16,000 energy efficiency businesses, 80 percent with fewer than 20 employees; and
WHEREAS, Governor Roy Cooper’s Executive Order No. 80, “North Carolina’s Commitment to Address Climate Change and Transition to a Clean Energy Economy,” calls for a 40 percent reduction in energy consumption in state-owned buildings by 2025, and the North Carolina Clean Energy Plan developed under Executive Order 80 established a goal of 70 percent reduction in power sector carbon dioxide emissions by 2030 and achieving carbon-neutrality by 2050; and
WHEREAS, Governor Cooper signed into law the 2021 bipartisan energy legislation, Energy Solutions for North Carolina, which requires regulated electric utilities to reduce carbon dioxide emissions 70 percent below 2005 levels by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2050; and
WHEREAS, the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (“NC DEQ”) implements a number of energy efficiency and weatherization programs in low- to moderate-income areas; the Utility Savings Initiative within NC DEQ leads by example, supporting energy efficiency in all state-owned buildings, and saving our state more than $1.96 billion in utility costs since 2002, including approximately $198 million in avoided utility costs in FY2022-23; and
WHEREAS, according to American Council for Energy-Efficient Economy, North Carolina’s existing energy efficiency programs could reduce the state’s growing electricity needs by nearly one-fifth by 2040; and
WHEREAS, improved energy codes for homes and commercial buildings can significantly further reduce utility costs, create new jobs, and decrease household expenses for North Carolinians; the State of North Carolina would greatly benefit from increasing building energy efficiency through adopting the latest codes and standards; and
NOW, THEREFORE, I, ROY COOPER, Governor of the State of North Carolina, do hereby proclaim October 2, 2024, as “ENERGY EFFICIENCY DAY” in North Carolina, and commend its observance to all citizens.
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Roy Cooper
Governor
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the Great Seal of the State of North Carolina at the Capitol in Raleigh this twenty-fifth day of September in the year of our Lord two thousand and twenty-four and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-ninth.