On August 20, 2007, with the signing of Session Law 2007-397 (Senate Bill 3), North Carolina became the first state in the Southeast to adopt a Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Portfolio Standard (REPS). On October 10, 2023, the North Carolina General Assembly enacted Session Law 2023-138 (Senate Bill 678), Part 1 of which amended the REPS by expanding it to be the Clean Energy and Energy Efficiency Portfolio Standard (CEPS).
Under the laws, investor-owned utilities in North Carolina will be required to meet up to 12.5% of their energy needs through clean energy resources or energy efficiency measures. Rural electric cooperatives and municipal electric suppliers are subject to a 10% CEPS requirement.
Although the laws set forth a number of details, these electric power suppliers generally may comply with the CEPS requirement in a number of ways, including the use of clean or renewable energy resources in existing electric generating facilities, the generation of power at new clean energy facilities, the purchase of power from clean energy facilities, the purchase of renewable energy certificates, or the implementation of energy efficiency measures.
Clean energy facilities include nuclear energy facilities, facilities that generate electric power by the use of a renewable energy resource, combined heat and power systems, and solar thermal energy facilities. Clean energy resources include nuclear, solar electric, solar thermal, wind, hydropower, geothermal, or ocean current or wave energy resource; a biomass resource, including agricultural waste, animal waste, wood waste, spent pulping liquors, combustible residues, combustible liquids, combustible gases, energy crops, or landfill methane; waste heat derived from a renewable energy resource and used to produce electricity or useful, measurable thermal energy at a retail electric customer's facility; or hydrogen derived from a renewable energy resource.
On February 29, 2008, the Commission issued an Order Adopting Final Rules implementing Senate Bill 3. On June 21, 2024, the Commission issued an order modifying its rules to implement the change to CEPS.
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