RALEIGH, N.C.  – North Carolina lawmakers have extended and expanded a state income tax credit for small-scale renewable energy units.

The House took final legislative action on Thursday, voting 83-29 to extend the tax credit by five years to 2016.

The credit can now be taken on geothermal energy units as well as solar and wind.

The tax break is worth 35 percent of the cost of a geothermal unit, which would include up to $8,400 for the cost of home installation. The cost of installing a heat pump ranges from $17,500 to $27,000. The North Carolina Solar Center said about 20 to 30 were installed annually before the tax credit.

The Senate voted separately to override city and county bans and allow homeowners to install solar energy panels on homes.

RALEIGH, N.C.  – North Carolina senators have approved banning wind turbines from Appalachian ridges, balancing potential for green energy against unspoiled mountain vistas.

The Senate voted 42-1 on Thursday to establish regulations for where wind turbines can be built. It next heads to the state House, where it may not come up until next spring.

The proposed law would require a state permit to build wind farms. They could be blocked if they harm navigation, wildlife, or the views from any state or national park. Single windmills of up to 100 feet tall could power a home.

Senators rejected pleas by green-power advocates not to ban an industry some mountain communities are trying to encourage and Appalachian State University is a leader in studying.

WILMINGTON, N.C. – A North Carolina panel exploring energy available off the state’s coast hears from the public about the choices ahead.

The Offshore Energy Exploration Study Committee meets on Tuesday in Wilmington. The panel created by the General Assembly earlier this year holds a public comment session on the University of North Carolina at Wilmington campus.

The committee’s interim report filed in May said there may be a significant amount of oil and gas deposits in federal waters under the Outer Continental Shelf off North Carolina.

The panel said North Carolina also could produce a signficant part of its energy by harnassing offshore wind, especially north of Cape Hatteras.

The committee’s final recommendations are due next May.

RALEIGH, N.C.  – North Carolina wants to develop green energy projects using $75 million of the state’s share of federal stimulus funds.

State Energy Office director Larry Shirley said the plan is to promote conservation and efficiency with new technology. The state would work with private and nonprofit sectors of the economy.
 
The state has developed six areas of focus, including energy savings in small business and industry, improving energy efficiency in government and residential use and fostering renewable energy.

The largest portion of the plan is an $18 million revolving loan fund to support efficiency and renewable energy in business, local government, schools and universities.

WASHINGTON  – President Barack Obama is calling for the country to move swiftly to a system of high-speed rail travel, saying it will relieve congestion, help clean the air and save on energy.

Appearing with Vice President Joe Biden and Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood Thursday, Obama said the country cannot afford not to invest in a major upgrade to rail travel. He said he understands it necessarily will be “a long-term project” but said the time to start is now.

The president allocated $8 billion in the enormous $787 billion economic stimulus spending package for a start on establishing high-speed rail corridors nationwide.

Transportation Department officials say about six proposed routes with federal approval for high-speed rail stand a good chance of getting some of the $8 billion award. Those routes include parts of Texas, Florida, the Chicago region, and routes in the Southeast through North Carolina and Louisiana.

Gov. Bev Perdue will speak at the first Charlotte Energy Summit on Monday at the Hilton Charlotte Center City Hotel.  Gov. Perdue will join representatives from more than 50 energy-related companies in the Charlotte area to explore job and economic opportunities for the region.

The summit takes place at 3 p.m. Monday at the Hilton Charlotte Center City Hotel, 222 East Third Street in Charlotte.

WASHINGTON  – President Barack Obama pushed back Tuesday against criticism that he’s trying to take on too many issues at once, defending a $3.6 trillion budget that seeks to shore up the economy while also overhauling health care, energy and education.

“To kick these problems down the road for another four years or another eight years would be to continue the same irresponsibility that led us to this point,” Obama said in an appearance with the heads of the congressional budget committees. “That’s not why I ran for this office. I didn’t come here to pass on our problems to the next president or the next generation.”

In particular, the president responded sharply to the idea, pushed by some leaders in Congress, that he should be focusing on fixing the banking crisis first. Obama said his team is working aggressively to free up frozen credit and get people working again, but that real economic recovery requires many actions at once.

“The American people don’t have the luxury of just focusing on Wall Street,” Obama said. “They don’t have the luxury of choosing to pay their mortgage or their medical bills. They don’t get to pick between paying their kids’ college tuition or saving enough money for retirement.”

“They have to do all these things,” the president added. “They have to confront all these problems. And as a consequence, so do we.”

Obama was flanked by two Democrats as he defended he budget plan: Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad, D-N.D., and his House counterpart, Rep. John Spratt Jr., D-S.C.

Conrad is among lawmakers from both parties who have expressed skepticism about Obama’s proposals. Conrad called the future track of the country’s deficits “unsustainable.”

Obama is projecting a federal deficit of $1.75 trillion this year, by far the largest in history, but says he can get it down to $533 billion by 2013.

“That will bring discretionary spending for domestic programs as a share of the economy to its lowest level in nearly half a century,” Obama said Tuesday.

Republicans say the bill spends, borrows and taxes too much.

“This budget raises taxes on everyone from middle-class families to small businesses to seniors and to schools,” said House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio.

The president plans to raise taxes, starting in 2011, on individuals earning more than $200,000 and on households earning more than $250,000. Republicans say those increases will hurt small business.
 
In a passage clearly aimed at his critics, Obama challenged lawmakers who oppose his budget plan to offer constructive alternatives. He said he welcomed ideas from both parties but would not accept another period of political tactics.

” ‘Just say no’ is the right advice to give your teenagers about drugs,” Obama said. “It is not an acceptable response to whatever economic policy is proposed by the other party. The American people sent us here to get things done.”

Obama said his budget sets the framework for real economic recovery, the kind he said can create “lasting wealth,” not the illusion of prosperity. He has been pushing lawmakers and the country to get behind a long-range, costly economic model that isn’t build on bubbles like the now collapsed housing market.

Rep. Eric Cantor, the second-ranking Republican in the House, has said the GOP plans to offer its own budget as an alternative. Cantor said Obama’s long-term view doesn’t address the country’s immediate needs.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Vice President Joe Biden and Energy Secretary Chu Thursday announced North Carolina will receive $207,943,536 in weatherization and energy efficiency funding – including $131,954,536 for the Weatherization Assistance Program and $75,989,000 for the State Energy Program.

This is part of a nationwide investment announced today of nearly $8 billion under the President’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act – an investment that will put about 87,000 Americans to work.

“This energy efficiency funding for states is an important investment in making America more energy independent, creating a cleaner economy and creating more jobs for the 21st century that can’t be outsourced,” said Vice President Biden.

The funding will support weatherization of homes, including adding more insulation, sealing leaks and modernizing heating and air conditioning equipment, which will pay for itself many times over.

“Even as we seize the enormous potential of clean energy sources like wind and solar, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act makes a major investment in energy efficiency, which is the most cost effective route to energy independence,” Chu said.

The Weatherization Assistance Program will allow an average investment of up to $6,500 per home in energy efficiency upgrades and will be available for families making up to 200% of the federal poverty level – or about $44,000 a year for a family of four.

The State Energy Program funding will be available for rebates to consumers for home energy audits or other energy saving improvements; development of renewable energy projects for clean electricity generation and alternative fuels; promotion of Energy Star products; efficiency upgrades for state and local government buildings; and other innovative state efforts to help save families money on their energy bills.

The DOE’s Weatherization Assistance Program allows low-income families to reduce their energy bills by making their homes more energy efficient, reducing heating bills by an average of 32  percent and overall energy bills by hundreds of dollars per year.

Environmental groups are proesting over a provision in the stimulus bill that would “provide up to $50 billion in additional taxpayer loan guarantees that could be used to build new nuclear plants, so-called ‘clean coal’ plants, and plants that turn coal into liquid fuel for military planes,” Facing South reports.