Where does the State Energy Office belong?

The agency, which leads the state's efforts to provide information about sustainable energy, would move to the N.C. Department of Commerce under a state bill endorsed today by Gov. Beverly Perdue as part of a reform package.

State Rep. Pricey Harrison, a Greensboro Democrat and bill co-sponsor, admitted that might sound a little odd to some people, since Commerce typically handles business recruiting and development.

But she argued the office should focus on business.

"This office is largely a relic of the Arab oil embargo, when it was focused more on energy security," she said. "We seem to have now entered a new era where it's as much about economic development and homegrown energy options as trying to find alternatives to Mideast oil."

The office is currently part of the Department of Administration, a catch-all government agency that houses the state construction office, among other things.

Harrison opposed an earlier effort to move the office to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources which she argued was designed to undermine it. She says the new proposal is a good-faith effort.

CARY — Standing in front of solar farm, Gov. Beverly Perdue this morning announced an energy program designed to both make North Carolina more energy efficient and also create more jobs connected to the so-called green economy.

The governor proposed investing more public money in private alternate energy start-up companies, elevate state energy policies, and also make state government more energy efficient, Rob Christensen reports.

"Developing our green economy is one of the cornerstones of why I wanted to be governor," Perdue said.

Perdue said the proposals were part of her campaign promise in 2008, in which she said she would work to produce more jobs in North Carolina for projects such as weatherizing homes and businesses, and making the equipment needed for alternative energy forms such as solar power.

After the jump, her proposals.

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The federal government has cleared the way for wind farms off North Carolina's coast.

Regulations published Wednesday afternoon in the Federal Register and touted by President Obama at an Earth Day speech lay out the rules for leasin, siting, permitting and building wind turbines and other forms of renewable energy.

Dozens of applications for proposed offshore wind projects are expected in the north and central Atlantic in the coming months, said Interior Secretary Ken Salazar.

A report from his department says the Outer Banks have some of the strongest and steadiest winds on the East Coast.

"We realize there's a tremendous opportunity offshore," said Bob Leker, a program manager with the State Energy Office in Raleigh. "I think it's a good idea. It's a resource the country as a whole has a lot of." (N&O)

Wind power is not blowing hard in North Carolina.

Though nine offshore wind projects are proposed along the coasts of Atlantic states, none are currently planned here, despite a law passed a year ago requiring utilities to meet 12.5 percent of energy demand by 2021 with clean energy.

Bob Leker, renewables program manager for the State Energy Office, says North Carolina has a significant untapped source of wind power.

"The U.S. Department of Energy is very interested in North Carolina," he said in remarks Wednesday to the N.C. Coastal Resources Advisory Council. "We have a significant resource by virtue of the miles of coastline and relatively shallow sound."

One small, land-based commercial wind project is proposed in Carteret County. Raleigh entrepeneurs Nelson and Dianna Paul have proposed three wind turbines that would generate 4.5 megawatts of eletricity, enough to power about 900 homes. (N&O) 

Is the State Energy Office at risk of shutting down?

With federal funding drying up, some state lawmakers think the office should be abolished and its duties transferred to the N.C. Department of Natural Resources and the State Building Office, according to a report on WUNC.

Sen. Janet Cowell, a Raleigh Democrat, argues that would be more efficient.

"They're not deeply entwined with a lot of the other departments within administration, including construction," she said.

But some supporters say that Progress Energy and other utilities are working behind the scenes to undermine the office because energy efficiency hurts their bottom line.

"I'm afraid they've been sowing seeds of doubt as far as the need for the energy office," said Rep. Pricey Harrison, a Greensboro Democrat.

The company had no comment on Harrison's allegation.

The Senate budget would dismantle the State Energy Office.

The office, which helps government, business and the public tackle environmental problems, has been funded by federal money from a court settlement with gas companies in the 1970s.

But that money is running out. Now, some senators are questioning whether the office is still needed. (AP)

Sen. Janet Cowell said that shifting some of its duties to a new position in the Department of Environment and Natural Resources would actually give energy effiency a higher profile.

"I think there was a feeling that the energy office was off to the side and that it was just an afterthought," Cowell said. (Char-O)