Author:  R. Alan Harrop, Ph.D.  

During the recent snow event, I received a notice from our electricity supplier, Tideland, to reduce our home use of electricity as much as possible. I have been through a lot of cold and hot weather periods in my life, but this is the first time I was requested to reduce my usage of essential electric power. Another concern was a notice received from Tidewater that they are now billing the amount you pay per kilo-watt hour depending on the time of the day, with the highest rates in the evening. This is alarming for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that this is what has been happening in the failed state of California for years. Not a good state to be following. Like them, we are relying on electricity generated in other states (like Florida) to supply our needs. North Carolina should have the capacity to meet our own needs, now and in the future.

A plentiful, relatively inexpensive supply of electricity is essential to every successful modern civilization. With the advent of Artificial Intelligence (AI), the demand for electricity is predicted to accelerate far beyond what would be expected with normal population growth. We are now experiencing another negative impact of the leftist Democrat’s forcing our country to address the unproven hoax of climate change being caused by CO2 emissions. In 2009, the Democrat controlled House passed the Clean Air Security Act which would have severely restricted any electricity generation from other than wind and solar. Fortunately, it did not pass the Republican Senate. As usual, the Obama administration had the Environmental Protection Agency implement the same rules and regulations, ignoring the will of the people. As a result, there have been no nuclear plants built since 2007, new coal plants were stopped, and excessive tax money was spent to pay for expensive solar, wind and battery storage. As a result, the U.S. increased electrical energy generating capacity by less than 6% from 2015 to 2024; whereas our closest competitor, Communist China, has increased their capacity in the same time frame by over 120%. The current generating capacity of the U.S. is 4,178 terawatt-hours compared to China’s 8,534. This is at a time when we need as much electricity capacity as possible to compete with China in AI, robotics, cyberspace, and military expansion. This is a recipe for disaster.

Like many other things, President Trump recently announced that he was revoking many of the climate change regulations that have been prevented the expansion of electricity generating capacity that we need, as well as placing high-cost emission standards on vehicles.  He wants more coal fired plants built because it can be done rapidly and cost effectively. China has been building at least on coal fired plant per month. It should be remembered that our coal plants are very clean burning and along with nuclear provide over 60% of our generating capacity. President Trump has also taken steps to stop the construction of windmills anywhere in the country. They are the most expensive form of electric generation and like solar require extensive battery capacity since they produce energy sporadically. For example, Duke Energy, the largest supplier of energy in N.C., has plans to build an 8-acre battery network 20 miles outside of Charlotte. The cost is estimated at over 50 million dollars, and you the tax payer will be responsible for 40%. The energy stored can provide electric power to 30,000 homes for only four hours! Who do we get the batteries from?  You know–China.

Here is what needs to be done. Since Duke Energy has essentially a monopoly on power generating in N.C., the General Assembly should appoint a special committee to conduct an assessment of current and projected future electricity needs and develop a plan that Duke will be required to follow. No more taxpayer funded solar or windmills. The economic future of this state requires our elected officials to make sure that sufficient cost-effective electrical energy is available at all times. It should not be left up to the whims of Duke or any other energy corporation. Without it our safety and security are at grave risk.