Steve Kalland

The STEPs4GROWTH (Successful Training and Effective Partnerships for Growing Regional Opportunities in the Workforce To Harness the) NC Clean Energy Alliance project will focus on economic development and jobs in the Clean Energy (CE) Sector. Project activities will lead to the development of an educational/experiential system to support the explosive growth of Clean Energy across four geographic regions in North Carolina. Many of the counties in these four regions are either economically distressed or serve a large minority population that has been negatively impacted by the recent COVID pandemic. STEPs4GROWTH will address Clean Energy across four sectors, including Energy Efficiency, Renewable Energy, Clean Vehicles, and Grid & Storage. The four CE Sectors will be supported by ????????????????sectoral partnership teams??????????????? that include in a lead Backbone Organization, Community Colleges, Workforce Development Boards Regional Training Centers, Chambers of Commerce, Universities, and industry partners. The Backbone Organizations will implement a Collective Impact approach that includes common agendas, continuous communication; mutually reinforcing activities, and shared metrics. Ultimately, the ????????????????sectoral partnership teams??????????????? will define an educational and work experience system that supports students in developing their knowledge and skills with stackable credentials or certificates with courses to develop personal soft skills, fundamentals in STEM, and specific technical skills. Industry in each CE Sector will play a crucial role in defining the skills for worker development. North Carolina A&T University is submitting the STEPs4GROWTH proposal as the Clean Energy Sector Lead Entity.

The focus of the proposed Engine is on clean energy resource technologies, including land-based and offshore wind, solar, and marine energy, as well as the electric-energy delivery and storage systems that support their integration. The Engine will support the net-carbon-neutral electric grid of 2050 that is now required by law in North Carolina and is a compelling goal in South Carolina. The Engine will address the complexities of renewable resource integration, such as frequency instability of and need for hybrid energy storage systems, to achieve the goal of a reliable and resilient electric grid of 2050. The Engine will develop new and strengthen existing partnerships for workforce development, and the life cycle of clean energy equipment and components, to foster a circular, inclusive, and equitable economy and address the vital needs of underserved and diverse communities through energy transformation (such as public transportation, affordable housing, and sustainable, community agriculture). The Engine???s self-sustaining innovation ecosystem will enable translational outcomes and develop workforce with a strong commitment to diversity, equity, inclusiveness, and accessibility in its organization, partnerships, and activities.

There is a potential need for North Carolina utilities to support utility solar PV resources on the electric grid by using a variety of operating reserves to balance supply-load fluctuations. Duke Energy has indicated a need to operate natural gas fueled generating plants to allow them to run continuously at low load to serve as operating reserves to accommodate excess solar PV production anticipated in the near future. The use of these natural gas plants in this manner is expected to result in increased fuel consumption, lower efficiency and greater emissions. The resulting environmental impacts, especially in communities with existing environmental justice issues, point to a need to study other options to identify feasible technologies to support utility solar PV with lesser impact. This proposed study will explore several aspects of the solar PV ?????????????????? operating reserve question: ??????????????? Circumstances under which solar PV causes a need for regulating reserves ??????????????? Type of reserve requirements needed to meet the different demand conditions ??????????????? Level of operating reserves required based on current and projected solar penetration ??????????????? Annual hours that operating reserves are needed, primarily during daylight hours ??????????????? Alternatives for providing regulating reserve capabilities After identifying the needs and options (including those identified by Duke Energy), several alternatives scenarios to supply regulating reserves will be developed, and may include options such as energy storage batteries, flywheels, capacitors, demand side management, voltage regulation, power flow control, etc. These options will be compared with Duke Energy??????????????????s preferred option of modifying operation of natural gas combustion turbine and combined cycle systems. An economic analysis will be performed to determine the feasibility of each scenario, most likely based on net present value (NPV) comparison. An environmental impact analysis will provide an estimate of any differences in emissions (relevant criteria pollutants, greenhouse gases, and hazardous air pollutants) between the scenarios and the preferred option of modifying natural gas operations.

As a continuation of last year????????s project providing funding for community solar subscriptions at cooperative and municipal utilities, the North Carolina Clean Energy Technology Center (NCCETC) will explore larger-scale systems and possible incorporation of energy storage in order to improve the value proposition of community solar for both utilities and subscribers. NCCETC will include analysis of an opt-out community solar program in order to overcome barriers to access for lower-income communities. The overall project goal will be to spur new capacity development (previous community solar programs have supported existing programs and capacity); some funds will be reserved to provide additional subscriptions at existing facilities, although efforts will be made to explore ways to increase value for subscribers even at existing facilities, possibly through deployment of energy. Also, NCCETC will design a utility-owned solar-plus-storage (or standalone storage) program model focused on providing resilience benefits to low-income communities, and work to begin a real-world pilot program in partnership with a utility. Roanoke Electric Cooperative has expressed interest in serving as a utility partner for this project. The program would involve deployment of utility-owned generation and storage assets to commercial-scale customer locations, such as churches, schools, and community centers. This project will focus on communities in eastern NC that have storm-related resilience needs.

The Energy Production and Infrastructure Center (EPIC) at the University of North Carolina Charlotte, on behalf of the NC Department of Environmental Quality??????????????????s State Energy Program, will lead the development of a strategic roadmap that will consider State Energy Planning targets, grid hardening investments, high penetration of renewable energy and distributed generation, potential for energy storage, emerging technologies underpinning micro- and mini-grids, economic competitiveness, and resilience of the grid during emergency times over the next decade. The outcome of a twenty four month research and stakeholder engagement process will be a roadmap that includes technical, energy economic and energy policy related components. The expected impact of developing a comprehensive roadmap will result from the suggestions to the current and future regulatory staff for planning innovation, and educating disparate stakeholders in North Carolina on a vision for NC??????????????????s energy future. The NC Clean Energy Technology Center will support EPIC in developing the resulting roadmap and lead efforts of stakeholder engagement process to gather input and vet recommendations to make North Carolina??????????????????s electricity more affordable, reliable and resilient.

The Consultant will develop a final report, which may include appendixes or supplemental materials, that provides an analysis of North Carolina??????????????????s current OSW infrastructure and assets, identifies how to leverage North Carolina??????????????????s advantages, and provides recommendations, including executive actions, regulatory changes, and statutory changes, to alleviate barriers. The Consultant will also develop a PowerPoint presentation summarizing the final report. It is preferred that this North Carolina-focused analysis build on or be aligned with similar analyses conducted by other states in the region to promote the concept of a regional supply chain. Pursuing a collaborative multistate approach will provide North Carolina with greater opportunities to participate in the OSW supply chain. The promise of a multi-state collaboration, combined with logistics capabilities and assets, can attract anchor tenants that supply greater diversity and grow more economic benefits. The final documents will serve as a resource to connect industry prospects with North Carolina??????????????????s OSW-related industry and assets; provide a summary of North Carolina??????????????????s unique advantages; communicate OSW-related development and business incentive efforts underway; educate state and local economic development and energy policy leaders; and identify competitive gaps and make recommendations for state and local action to address those gaps.

The NC Clean Energy Technology Center (NCCETC) will provide expert advise on the review of the draft Clean Energy Plan in accordance to Executive 80 which was issued by Governor Cooper on October 29, 2018. NCCETC will review, edit and provide written input on sections of the Clean Energy Plan as developed and submitted by State Energy Office (SEO) staff. The sections of the Clean Energy Plan include but are not limited to: 1) NC??????????????????s Energy Resources; 2) NC??????????????????s Energy Sector Profile; 5) Energy and Emissions Modeling; 6) Energy Sector Jobs and Economic Outlook and; 7) Recommendations. This work will also involve a representative of NCCETC meeting with SEO as diemed necessary by both parties for a face-to-face meeting to discuss the review, edit and written input provided to the SEO from NCCETC on the Clean Energy Plan development.

The industrial and energy sectors in the Southeast region of the United States are confronting simultaneous challenges that point to investment to combined heat and power (CHP) as an ideal solution. As the region?s utilities undertake long deferred reinvestment in electric power generation, energy intensive industries and other ratepayers are faced with increases in the price of electricity to pay for this new infrastructure. CHP represents an underutilized approach to energy delivery that sites power generation at the point of demand and makes productive of the residual thermal energy for heating and cooling at factories and businesses, lowering thus the overall cost of electricity and heat. Along with delivering enhanced energy infrastructure, CHP deployment results in improved competitiveness of U.S. industry, economic growth, increased energy efficiency, reduced emissions and improved energy security. The DOE "Southeast Combined Heat and Power Technical Assistance Partnership? project (Southeast CHP TAP) will leverage over a decade of CHP technical and policy expertise to support continued development of the market for CHP in the region. This project will be led at North Carolina State University by a team from the North Carolina Solar Center in the College of Engineering, which currently is the project principal for the DOE Southeast Clean Energy Application Center (SE-CEAC). The NC State team has expertise in providing end-users with needed technical assistance on CHP project development and has a deep understanding of state policies that impact CHP system development and operation. Over the past five years, NC State and the SE-CEAC team have provided direct technical assistance on development of 320 megawatts of distributed generation, including 256 megawatts of CHP ranging from renewable biomass boiler and steam turbine systems to natural gas reciprocating engine and turbine applications. The Southeast CHP TAP team, which includes key personnel from the International District Energy Association, the National Association of State Energy Officials (NASEO), the State of Kentucky Department of Energy Development and Independence (DEDI) and the State of North Carolina Energy Office, has strong relationships with corporate level decision makers at companies in energy intensive industries such as chemicals, metals and pulp and paper, as well as in the growing sectors of biofuels, food processing and high-tech manufacturing that would benefit from an improved CHP market. We also have worked closely with institutions and the military on large scale CHP deployment at district energy systems. Through these relationships and longstanding working partnerships with a variety of key stakeholders in the region, including Governor?s offices, State energy offices, utility regulators, electric and gas utilities, industrial organizations and non-profit organizations, the Southeast CHP TAP team will effectively carry out the objectives of the project. An important hallmark of the Southeast CHP TAP project will be the creation of formal State CHP Partnerships that will seek input from CHP end-users and key stakeholders in Kentucky and North Carolina. The intent of the Southeast CHP TAP in funding and facilitating these partnerships and is to support States in identifying and implementing policy approaches to support CHP to the benefit of energy users, ratepayers and utilities. In some cases the Partnerships will also serve to localize delivery of the technical assistance of the Southeast CHP TAP by developing CHP expertise within state industrial technical assistance programs. Through the efforts of NASEO, the project will also work to support Southeast State Energy Offices in evaluating CHP policy best practices appropriate to their states. The approach of CHP education and outreach and technical assistance has demonstrated results from past U.S. Department of Energy regional programs such as the SE-CEAC. The Southeast CHP TAP will work to accelerate CHP deployment in the Southeast, with a goal of enablin

The 50 States of Grid Modernization, modeled after The 50 States of Solar, will provide a comprehensive quarterly update on state and utility actions related to the following: Incentives for advanced grid technologies; Policies related to advanced grid technologies; Studies and investigations related to grid modernization and energy storage; Utility business model and rate reform; Deployment of advanced grid technologies (Examples include AMI deployment, microgrids, and energy storage projects); and Planning and market access. The report will include detailed policy tables, including all proposed legislation and all regulatory activity pertaining to the above topics. The report will also include summary maps of activity in the six categories above, written insights on action occurring over the quarter and broader trends, as well as an outlook of action expected in the next quarter. Funding will support labor costs related to research, editing and logistics for the issues distributed in 2017. NCCETC will work with EF to determine the best way to distribute free access to the report for EF constituencies. Utility-scale solar photovoltaic development is commonplace across much of North Carolina and is growing in other Southeastern states like Virginia and South Carolina.To help answer some of these questions and the best information available, the North Carolina Clean Energy Technology Center (NCCETC) at NC State University proposes to conduct public information sessions on utility-scale (and community scale) solar energy. NCCETC is working closely with NC Cooperative Extension in NC and is reaching out to the Extension groups in VA and SC to deliver information to rural communities though the highly trusted Extension network.

This project is a comprehensive, systemic effort to reduce the installed cost of Solar PV. The project will address all aspects of PV technology through analysis, design, refinement and invention while taking a broader systems perspective encompassing aspects of the supply chain, standards, and regulations. We will build standard component and system designs, and delivery systems that will require little or no custom engineering, can be installed and connected to the grid efficiently, and will meet refined and simplified building and electrical codes. The goal is to drive non-panel costs to below the $0.96 / Watt 2020 Sun Shot target for a total cost below $1.50 per Watt.