Ensuring a sustainable energy future for North Carolina

              The State Energy Office is North Carolina’s lead agency
for energy programs and serves as the official source for en-ergy
information and assistance for consumers, businesses,
government agencies, and policy-makers. The Arab Oil
Embargo of 1973-74 was the impetus for the creation of the
State Energy Division under the Department of Military
and Veteran Affairs. Now operating under the N.C. De-partment
of Administration, the State Energy Office is
funded from Petroleum Violation Escrow funds and the
U.S. Department of Energy. The State Energy Office, which
uses no state-appropriated funds, administers programs in
four primary areas:
• Energy efficiency and renewable energy for residen-tial,
commercial, industrial, agricultural, transporta-tion
and utility sectors
• Alternative fuels and alternative fuel vehicles
• Energy policy recommendations to the N.C. Energy
Policy Council, N.C. General Assembly, the Gover-nor’s
Office, and other state agencies
• Energy emergencies during natural disasters and
supply disruptions
Mission
The State Energy Office promotes energy efficiency and
renewable energy, striving toward a sustainable energy fu-ture.
It accomplishes this by administering innovative pro-grams,
projects and services that inform, educate and
involve energy consumers, producers and decision-makers.
The State Energy Office organizes rapid responses to energy
emergencies. It is recognized as North Carolina’s primary,
independent resource for energy information.
Programs
The State Energy Office provides services and benefits
for small businesses, industry, local governments and indi-vidual
citizens in seven major areas: agriculture, awareness
and education, buildings, business and industry, renewable
and alternative energy sources, sustainable communities
and emergency response, and transportation. Currently,
the State Energy Office operates more than 50 projects to
meet the energy needs of North Carolinians.
Agriculture
Projects in agriculture include aquaculture, ethanol pro-duction
from swine
waste, energy effi-ciency
in
post-harvest produc-tion,
and recycled
animal waste as soil
amendments.
Awareness and Education
The State Energy Office sponsors K-12 education in
public schools through NEED (National Energy Education
Development program) and the EV Challenge program. In
addition, it publishes and disseminates brochures and re-ports;
maintains a Web site; produces a monthly cable
television program; and sponsors professional and techni-cal
trainings, workshops and seminars.
Buildings
Among the programs that address energy efficiency in
building design and construction of school, state and local
government buildings are the High Performance Guidelines.
These guidelines provide a model for the design and con-struction
of energy-efficient, cost-effective, durable and en-vironmentally
sound buildings. Other programs include
energy code assessment and training, energy improvement
loan programs, and energy efficiency in state construction.
Business and Industry
Projects in this area market and promote energy
efficiency programs to corporations and businesses located
in North Carolina. Topics include technical training in en-ergy
management and sustainability, including reuse and
recycling.
Renewable and Alternative Energy Sources
The State Energy Office supports demonstration efforts
in renewable energy resources - wind, hydropower, solar,
biomass and geothermal. It also supports a number of pro-grams
that promote alternative fuel vehicles and the pro-duction
and use of alternative fuels.
Sustainable Communities
And Emergency Response
In times of supply disruptions, natural disasters, or
national/state emergencies, the State Energy Office helps
to facilitate state emergency response and restore services.
It also surveys, on a weekly basis, state propane and
heating oil prices and ensures that consumers have ade-quate
supplies. Other programs, like Rebuild America,
demonstrate building retrofits, the preservation of
downtown areas, and the use of safe, healthy, durable,
comfortable and energy-efficient building practices in
construction of affordable housing.
Transportation
The transportation sector is the largest consumer of
energy. The State Energy Office supports several pro-grams,
including the EV Challenge and the U.S. De-partment
of
Energy’s Clean
Cities Program,
that promote alter-native
fuel vehicles
(AFV) such as
electric, ethanol,
compressed natural
gas, propane and
biodiesel. The of-fice
also works
closely with the
Motor Fleet Man-agement
Division
in its AFV pro-gram.
Ginny Byrne, NEED lead teacher, and her students from North
Ridge Elementary School (Raleigh) participate in the NEED
Youth Awards as winners for North Carolina Elementary School
of the Year.
Wayne Denton drives a Motor Fleet
Management alternative fuel vehicle.
Wood, or biomass, is an alternative source of energy.
Photo by Warren Gretz, National Renewable
Energy Laboratory
The State Energy Office helped support rebuilding efforts in the
wake of Hurricane Floyd. Maggie Crawford stands in front of
the “E-house” in Kinston. Built after her original house was de-stroyed,
it was designed and constructed with energy-efficient
technologies. Photo by Advanced Energy Corporation
Sustainability
The State Energy Office promotes and practices environ-mental
sustainability through its programs, services and ac-tivities.
Because energy availability and costs affect each
facet of state government operations, the State Energy Of-fice
seeks innovative, cooperative, energy-saving strategies
with other agencies in the fields of transportation, industry
and commerce, housing and construction, and natural and
environmental resources. For example, the State Energy
Office works with the State Construction Office to ensure
new buildings and retrofits are designed energy efficiently
and with the Motor Fleet Management Division to advance
the use of alternative fuel vehicles in the state motor pool.
Energy Policy Council
Created by the North Carolina Energy Policy Act of
1975, the Energy Policy Council is charged with overseeing
the state’s energy policies and providing recommendations
for policy changes to the governor and General Assembly.
Current members are:
Secretary Gwynn T. Swinson
N.C. Department of Administration
Commissioner Meg Scott Phipps
N.C. Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services
Secretary Jim Fain
N.C. Department of Commerce
Secretary William G. Ross Jr.
N.C. Department of Environment & Natural Resources
Chairman Jo Anne Sanford
N.C. Utilities Commission
Senator Hamilton C. Horton Jr.
General Assembly
Senator Eleanor Kinnaird
General Assembly
Representative Joe P. Tolson
General Assembly
Representative Nurham O. Warwick
General Assembly
Robert Burns, Petroleum Industry
Don K. Davis, Natural Gas Industry
Councilwoman Helen P. Gay, Elected Municipal Official
John L. Neufeld, Economic Analysis Sector
Mike Nicklas, Alternative Energy Sector
Ray Ogden, Industrial Energy Sector
Commissioner Dave Plyler, County Commissioner
Wade Pridgen, Electric Power Industry
Michael Shore, Environmental Protection Sector
Contact Us
The State Energy Office can assist homeowners, business
owners, schools, public and private agencies, communities
and individuals. For more information about the State En-ergy
Office's programs and assistance, please contact:
State Energy Office
N.C. Department of Administration
1830 A Tillery Place
Raleigh, NC 27604-1376
Mailing Address: 1340 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, NC 27699-1340
(919) 733-2230 - telephone
1-800-662-7131 (N.C. only)
(919) 733-2953 - fax
E-mail: energy@ncmail.net
Web Site:
http://www.energync.net
State of North Carolina
Michael F. Easley, Governor
N.C. Department of Administration
Gwynn T. Swinson, Secretary
Carlton Myrick, Deputy Secretary for Government Operations
State Energy Office
Larry Shirley, Director
January 2002
____ copies of this public document were printed at a cost of $____.
No state money was used in the printing of this document
Ensuring a sustainable energy future
for North Carolina
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For more information, visit the Web site at
http://www.energync.net or clip this form and place it in
an envelope addressed to:
State Energy Office
1340 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-1340
AREA OF INTEREST
____ Agriculture ____ Awareness and Education
____ Buildings ____ Business and Industry
____ Renewable and Alternative Energy Sources
____ Sustainable Communities and Emergency Response
____ Transportation
Name: _________________________________________
Organization: ___________________________________
Address: _______________________________________
City: ________________ State: _____ Zip: ________
Telephone: _____________________________________
Fax: ___________________________________________
E-mail: ________________________________________
(if you would like to receive a copy of the electronic news-letter
that the State Energy Office plans to publish begin-ning
in 2002.)