Governor Roy Cooper has proclaimed September 26 – 30, 2022 as North Carolina Clean Energy Week to highlight the work the state is doing to advance clean energy.
“North Carolina is leading the way in the transition toward a clean energy future,” said Governor Cooper. “We’re taking bold action to create new clean energy jobs that will boost our economy as we tackle climate change to help save our planet.”
Governor Cooper’s administration is focused on transitioning the state to a clean energy economy. In January, the Governor signed Executive Order No. 246 which laid out the next steps to transition North Carolina to a clean energy economy while centering environmental justice and creating economic opportunities across the state.
Executive Order No. 246 takes steps to emphasize environmental justice and equity in the state’s transition to a clean energy economy. The Governor’s Office is currently developing its Deep Decarbonization Pathways Analysis. The NC Department of Transportation is developing its Clean Transportation Plan. Every cabinet agency has designated an environmental justice lead and is utilizing agency public participation plans to enhance transparency and encourage engagement with communities historically left out of the participatory process.
The Governor’s Executive Order No. 246 expanded upon long-standing climate leadership, including Executive Order No. 80 signed in 2018. Executive Order No. 80 highlighted the state’s commitment to fight climate change and took action to reduce emissions and transition to clean energy. In June 2021, Governor Cooper issued Executive Order No. 218 which established offshore wind development goals. The Governor signed House Bill 951: Energy Solutions for North Carolina in October 2021, and the Utilities Commission is currently working to craft its plan along with nearly 40 participating parties.
These actions are making North Carolina less dependent on fossil fuels, bringing new high paying jobs to the state and helping remedy disproportionate environmental, economic, and health impacts on people of color, low-income communities and indigenous communities.
The Governor’s administration is also working to create more opportunities for great-paying jobs in the clean energy sector. In August, Governor Cooper joined U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo to announce that the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration is awarding a $23.7 million American Rescue Plan Good Jobs Challenge grant to North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University to create STEPs4GROWTH, a clean energy workforce training program.
Read the Proclamation.
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