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Institute for Emerging Issues
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2025 Forum Resources

Explore resources from the 2025 Emerging Issues Forum

General

Session Key Takeaways

Lessons from Hurricane Helene

Hurricane Helene and other extreme weather events changed the lives of hundreds of thousands of North Carolinians and caused millions of dollars in damage to the state’s physical infrastructure. What have we learned about the resilience of our energy grid and how – or should – this influence how we rebuild?

  • Stephanie Hack, Vice President of Business Development, Public Consulting Group (Introduction) 
  • Henry McKoy, Former Senior Advisor, U.S. Department of Energy (Moderator)
  • Charlie Bayless, Vice President, Senior Regulatory Counsel, NC Electric Cooperatives
  • Robin Ramsey, Regional Representative, Office of Senator Thom Tillis 
  • Brianna Goodwin, Robeson County Church and Community Center 
  • Venu Ghanta, Vice President of NC Regulatory Affairs and Policy, Duke Energy Corporation 
  • Nonprofits have played a key role in helping officials at the local, state and federal levels gain a deeper understanding of how extreme weather events impact local residents. 
  • To sustainably keep our infrastructure upgraded and resilient, we must prioritize strengthening our energy grid during “non-disaster” periods through research, advocacy and funding appropriation. 
  • The Hot Springs microgrid is a self-contained electricity system that successfully powered the downtown area of Hot Springs for more than 140 hours while the primary power grid was down.
  • Planning and permitting the proper location for new grid infrastructure projects is one of the most costly and time-consuming parts of building more modern, reliable and resilient infrastructure.  

The Tar Heel State in 2050

With some 14 million people expected to call the Tar Heel State home in 2050, this session explored the challenges and opportunities for meeting our physical infrastructure needs.

  • Chuck Flink, Director, Pappas Real Estate Program, NC State University
  • North Carolina is “growing like a weed,” and projections show it will be the seventh most populous state by the early 2030’s, outpacing Georgia and Ohio. 
  • Of the anticipated three to three and a half million people expected to move to North Carolina, two-thirds will congregate in metro areas. 
  • Rising temperatures and our rapidly changing climate will change how our state plans new infrastructure projects, especially housing and energy. 
  • How we plan to sustain the increasing energy demand required by data centers moving to our state to power Artificial Intelligence (AI) is unclear.

Our Evolving Energy Landscape

This fireside chat with industry leaders examined the forces changing our national and global energy landscape, including inflows of energy-intensive businesses, population growth, an aging electrical grid and the transition to clean energy.

  • Chris Chung, Chief Executive Officer, Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina
  • Kendal Bowman, President, North Carolina, Duke Energy Corporation
  • In recent years, access to power has been a key factor that companies consider when selecting a site. Driven by energy-intensive industries (e.g., data centers, electric vehicle manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, etc.), demand for reliable, affordable and sustainable power is critical. 
  • Supportive state policies like the Clean Smokestacks Act and House Bill 951 have been beneficial tools in reaching our energy goals while helping to strengthen grid reliability and resilience.
  • The energy sector expects to need 32 million workers nationwide, covering roles from lineworkers to cybersecurity. Duke Energy partners with community colleges to build the talent pipeline in technical and emerging skills.

Attaining Our Clean Energy Future

This presentation explored the federal and state policy impacts on North Carolina’s energy landscape and the necessary steps to secure our clean energy future.

Brian Murray, Director, Nicholas Institute for Energy, Environment & Sustainability, Duke University 

  • North Carolina’s energy policy and shifting federal priorities emphasize the growing importance of state-level leadership in clean energy deployment and infrastructure resilience. 
  • Upgrading our grid is critical for system reliability, faster project interconnection and support for future economic growth.
  • With decreasing federal support, North Carolina’s state and local officials must examine investing in a diverse energy mix, including solar, offshore wind, small modular reactors (SMRs) and storage technologies. 
  • While increasing investment and upgrading the grid, fair energy costs must simultaneously be a focus, particularly for rural and low-income communities. Emphasis should also be placed on building trust and inclusive spaces for decision-making.

Remarks from Governor Josh Stein & Chancellor Kevin Howell

Shaping North Carolina’s Energy Future

In the face of North Carolina’s evolving energy landscape there are numerous opinions and approaches on how to prepare for the future. During this session, a panel of policy experts discussed key considerations underpinning the state’s current energy policy, including cost, reliability, resilience and clean energy generation.

  • Tim Boyum, Host, Tying It Together, Spectrum News (Moderator)
  • John Larson, Director of Public Policy and Economic Development, Dominion Energy 
  • Mike Hager, Former Duke Employee, Lobbyist, Former Legislator 
  • Maureen Quinlan, Senior Officer, Clean Grid & Energy, The Pew Charitable Trusts 
  • Floyd McKissick Jr., Commissioner, NC Utilities Commission
  • The North Carolina Utilities Commission (NCUC) is a government agency created by the NC General Assembly that regulates the rates and services of all investor-owned public utilities in the state. Utility companies’ carbon plans must be approved by the NCUC biannually. 
  • Statewide policies should utilize federal funding (e.g., Inflation Reduction Act, Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act) to minimize local cost burdens caused by upgrades to our energy infrastructure. 
  • The NCUC evaluates least-cost pathways to meet the statewide emissions targets, prioritizing ratepayer affordability in its decision-making process. 
  • There is a growing push from customers for transparency and the opportunity for all communities to benefit from clean energy investments.

Community Perspectives: Local Challenges & Opportunities

The changing energy landscape offers both challenges and opportunities for local communities. This two-part session began with an introduction of the 2025 Emerging Issues Forum policy recommendations created by the IEI Energy Infrastructure Advisory Council. In the second part of this session, attendees heard from local leaders about their key concerns and the support they need to address them.

Developing North Carolina’s Energy Workforce (Breakout)

This session examined the current challenges with meeting our state’s energy workforce needs along with innovative solutions. Panelists presented efforts underway to strengthen energy workforce pipelines and the impact of these efforts on existing challenges.

  • Michael Holmes, Apprenticeship Coordinator, NC A&T STEPS4Growth (Moderator)
  • Seth Little, Market Development Director, CLEAResult 
  • Margaret Roberton, VP for Workforce Development/Chief of Staff, Central Carolina Community College 
  • Myra Cox, Program Assistant/Former Superintendent, Surry-Yadkin Works/Elkin City Schools
  • Exposing students to new career opportunities as early as possible is the best way to expand the energy infrastructure workforce pipeline. This requires public-private partnerships and industry engagement to provide instructors and equipment for students. 
  • Apprenticeship and pre-apprenticeship programs are great tools for connecting students with industry. They can also lead to jobs after completion. North Carolina’s investment in waiving tuition for high school students to enter these programs is an innovative step in strengthening our energy infrastructure workforce pipeline. 
  • Wraparound services, such as childcare, transportation, internet access and housing can make it more feasible for learners to commit to long-term careers. These services must continue after someone completes workforce development training and transitions to a new job.

NIMBY, BANANA and More: Addressing Community Concerns about Local Energy Infrastructure Projects (Breakout)

Meeting our energy needs requires new investments in the state’s electricity generation, transmission and distribution systems in communities across the state. This session focused on how community leaders can address concerns in their local communities.

  • Pres Davenport, Business Development Director, Eckel & Vaughan (Moderator) 
  • Shinica Thomas, Commissioner, Wake County Board of Commissioners 
  • Solange Tricanowicz, Business Recruitment Manager, EDPNC 
  • Jason Walls, Director, NC Infrastructure Engagement, Duke Energy
  • Community sentiment is a form of risk. If ignored, it can derail projects. Transparency and alignment with community values are essential to long-term success. 
  • At the community level, residents are typically concerned about equity and ensuring that those who pay for new energy infrastructure projects benefit from this investment once the project is completed.
  • Gathering early feedback and creating feedback loops ensures that communities see how their input has shaped the outcomes of new infrastructure projects.

Promoting Household Energy Affordability (Breakout)

Investments in our energy grid are increasing prices paid by customers. This session explored what can be done to promote household energy affordability, especially for those with the highest energy burdens.

  • Angella Dunston, Community Engagement Director, Roanoke Cooperative (Moderator)
  • Abdul Rasheed, CEO, Board of Franklin-Vance-Warren Opportunity
  • Michelle Carter, Clean Energy Campaigns Director, NC League of Conservation Voters
  • Claire Williamson, Energy Policy Advocate, NC Justice Center
  • Henry McKoy, Former Senior Advisor, U.S. Department of Energy
  • In certain low-income communities, nearly 30 percent of residents spend up to 50 percent of their income on utility bills. 
  • Many measures emphasize energy efficiency, weatherization, federal support and public-private partnerships as key strategies for reducing long-term costs and improving household energy affordability.
  • Engaging with trusted community-based organizations, leaders and advocates is critical for reaching residents effectively when marketing community energy affordability programs and resources. 
  • Programmatic responses are a good start, but must be designed for the specific communities they serve and paired with advocacy to expand and strengthen utility assistance programs, especially those offered by major providers..

Energy Infrastructure Resilience and Disaster Recovery (Breakout)

North Carolina is no stranger to extreme weather and the recovery efforts that follow. This discussion highlighted the evolution of recovery efforts for both local residents and to local industry. The panelists shared innovative tactics on providing critical resources to get communities back on their feet after a major weather event.

  • Kevin Martin, CEO, Carolina Utilities Customer Association (Introduction)
  • Heather Brutz, Clean Transportation Program Director, NC Clean Energy Technology Center (Moderator)
  • Ian Baillie, Regional Planner, Land of Sky Regional Council 
  • Matt Abele, Executive Director, NC Sustainable Energy Association 
  • Will Heegard, Operations Director, The Footprint Project
  • North Carolina needs to develop “community resilience hubs,” including microgrids, capable of serving populations of different sizes and based on easily deployable and available technologies to help meet the increased demand projections facing our future. 
  • Incentive programs, like the one recently approved by the NC Utilities Commission for residential solar/storage, help encourage households to upgrade their local energy infrastructure and be better prepared for natural disasters or other emergencies.
  • Large manufacturing operations may be open to testing ways neighboring states and corporations could provide interstate assistance by supplying power to surrounding communities. This would also require increased and quickly deployed federal assistance.

What are We Thinking and What are We Doing: NC State Approaches to Tackling Future Energy Needs (Breakout)

As part of the KIETS Climate Leader Program, faculty and student teams have approached the future of energy needs in different ways. This session highlighted recent projects and their applications for North Carolina.

  • Amanda Mueller, Director, KIETS Climate Leaders Program (Introduction) 
  • Christopher Galik, Deputy Executive Director, NC State Climate and Sustainability Academy (Moderator) 
  • Joe DeCarolis, Professor, NC State Department of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering
    • Jethro Ssengonzi, Ph.D. candidate, KIETS Climate Leaders Program, NC State University
  • Veronica Augustyn, Jake and Jennifer Hooks Distinguished Scholar, NC State University
    • Lillian Lower, Graduate Research Assistant, NC State University 
  • Fanxing Li, Thomas M. Clausi Distinguished Professor, NC State University
    • Casey Killmer, NC State University

Maximizing Energy Opportunities for Our Communities

North Carolina’s energy-related programs are carried out at the state, regional and community levels. How might this work be organized and coordinated to ensure the best results? This session explored how other states organize their workforce and affordability programs and what these approaches might mean for North Carolina.

  • Kevin Price, Director, National Institute of Minority Economic Development (Moderator) 
  • Steve Kalland, Director, NC Clean Energy Technology Center, NC State University
  • Jen Weiss, Founder & Co-Director, NC Clean Energy Fund 
  • Matt Abele, Executive Director, NC Sustainable Energy Association
  • The Small Business Transportation Resource Center partners with the U.S. Department of Transportation to connect small businesses to upcoming infrastructure projects while offering financial support during their development. These partnerships are important to sustain communities during the challenges associated with new infrastructure projects. 
  • The NC Clean Energy Technology Center operates across all 50 states. It tracks state incentives for renewables and efficiency, clean energy incentives, and policies at the federal, state, utility and local levels. 
  • The NC Clean Energy Fund is a “Green Bank” that leverages public dollars to attract private capital for underserved energy projects. By blending tools for funding projects, it can focus on low-income households, small commercial and rural businesses, and community resilience hubs. 
  • The most effective state energy offices must be streamlined and have easy-to-understand processes for receiving dollars for new energy infrastructure projects. Some organizations, such as the NC League of Conservation Voters, assist communities in navigating funding programs and identifying what they may qualify for.

AI and the Future of Our Energy Transition

This session explored key challenges and opportunities that artificial intelligence (AI) poses for our state’s energy transition.

  • If used responsibly, AI can help North Carolina meet its growing energy demand while providing some buffer time to further prepare its future workforce and recruit new businesses to the state.
  • AI models can improve how communities review new infrastructure project permits. They can help contractors, local city and county managers, engineers and others sort information faster, reducing the time needed to start a project. 
  • As more AI is introduced to our energy infrastructure, state policymakers and industry must be intentional about holding vendors accountable and including professionals who are committed to identifying biases included in the system. 
  • States should strongly consider creating a center dedicated to excellence for responsible AI that researches challenges and solutions in the artificial intelligence space.