Director’s Message | May 2025

This week has truly been electrifying!

On behalf of the Institute for Emerging Issues, I want to extend my deepest gratitude to everyone who contributed to the resounding success of the 2025 Emerging Issues Forum. This event would not have been possible without the generous support of our sponsors, the invaluable insights shared by our speakers and attendees, and the information and ideas offered by countless leaders across the state in helping shape our program. A special shout-out also goes to the entire IEI team, for their unwavering dedication and hard work poured into planning this forum over the past year, especially after rescheduling in February.

Coming together to explore how we can collaboratively address North Carolina’s energy infrastructure needs was critical for our economic competitiveness and quality of life. While I wish I could share all of my notes, I’m eager to highlight a few key personal takeaways:

• Our evolving energy landscape has changed rapidly in the past several years, particularly in industry, with some requiring 500 megawatts or even one gigawatt of power. And they need it 24/7. Layer on a projected 3 million additional people calling the state home by 2050. At a crossroads, we won’t meet projected future energy needs unless we adapt our policies and regulations accordingly.
• To benefit from the economic growth in front of us, industry, local policy leaders and residents should work together to uncover shared solutions that help move the narrative from Not in My Back Yard (NIMBY) to YIMBY (yes)!
• Many question the speed of AI innovations and whether or not they can be safely integrated into our technologies to build a robust energy infrastructure. After her closing keynote, IBM Consulting’s Global Leader for Responsible AI, Phaedra Boinodiris, shared with me (paraphrased): We can move fast with AI innovation if we’re prepared to go fast safely. Just like a race, we need to build the “race track” first– that’s built upon trusted use cases, sandboxes and vetted datasets. Then, we need a “trained pit crew and drivers”–those who truly understand AI, how to manage it and how to fix it; and schools that know the equipment inside and out to train the drivers and pit crew. Only with that solid foundation and ongoing investment can we hit top speeds.

If you couldn’t make it to this year’s forum, or faced the tough choice of which breakout session to attend, don’t worry! Over the next few weeks, we’ll share a comprehensive recap of the forum, including a variety of resources from throughout the day. Keep an eye out for those updates coming soon!

We’re also accepting feedback on the draft Strategies for Strengthening Our Energy Infrastructure. We believe everyone’s input is crucial in tackling our state’s energy challenges. You can review the strategies and submit your feedback by Friday, June 6. After reviewing everyone’s feedback, the advisory council will finalize these strategies and IEI will share them with the individuals and organizations you believe should receive these recommendations.

This forum served as the dynamic kickoff to our three-part series, Future Forward Infrastructure. Through this series, we’ll continue to examine our state’s evolving infrastructure needs as a result of a rapidly growing population, aging infrastructure, influx of new businesses, extreme weather events and much more.

With that in mind, please mark your calendars for our next Emerging Issues Forum: Future Forward Water on Feb. 25, 2026. I’m thrilled to share that next year’s forum will be a once-in-a-lifetime celebration of 40 years of the Emerging Issues Forum! Our team is already hard at work planning a robust program that will bring people together to examine the water challenges threatening our state’s economic vitality and how we can build a more resilient water future for North Carolina. We’re also excited to try something a bit different next year–hosting the 2026 Forum at three regional locations statewide: the mountains, piedmont and coastal regions. Stay tuned for more information in the coming months!