In North Carolina legislature, some energy bills still languish

Though the North Carolina General Assembly’s current calendar suggests legislators will recess on June 14, insiders project that they could be stuck in Raleigh through the Fourth of July.

That leaves plenty of time for now-dormant bills to pop up, and new ones, too. Below are a few of the bills under consideration:

S71: ​‘The coal ash bill’

As Southeast Energy News reported earlier this week: The bill passed the House and the Senate with wide margins, calls for Duke Energy to run municipal water to citizens on well water within a half-mile of their industrial waste pits, reconstitutes the Coal Ash Management Commission and would make the state the first in the nation to mandate the reuse of coal ash in concrete. Duke Energy supports the bill, as does the N.C. Chamber of Commerce. Gov. Pat McCory, however, has issued a veto threat. The bill is now on the governor’s desk. Follow #VetoWatch on Twitter for updates.

S843: Renewable Energy Property Protection

This is the ​“setback bill.” Should it become law, 1.5-mile setbacks for wind and solar installations would severely curtail those renewable industries in North Carolina, though lobbyists don’t expect it to see the light of day. It is currently in the Senate rules committee.

H760: Regulatory Reform Act of 2015

This bill is still alive from the General Assembly’s last session and includes standards for renewable energy. On May 18, the bill re-referred to the Senate’s Commerce Committee. If the bill emerges from that, it will then move on to the Senate’s Finance Committee.

H245: The Energy Freedom Act

What is colloquially known as the ​“third-party financing bill” hasn’t seen movement since Aug. 12, 2015, even though it has 26 bipartisan co-sponsors. Widely viewed by advocates of renewable energy as a decent bill that could allow the solar industry in the state to expand, the bill continues to languish. The bill was not included in a memo sent to legislators outlining which bills are up for consideration in the short session.

H332: Energy Policy Amendments

This bill was included in the memo to legislators, and, on May 19, was re-referred to the Senate Finance Committee. It’s listed as ​“an act to provide recovery of capital-related costs incurred by a natural gas utility for constructing natural gas infrastructure for a large manufacturing employer.”