Local Clean Power: Renewable Electricity Opportunities in the Southeast United States

The Southeast United States has sufficient renewable energy resources to meet up to 30 percent of its electric power needs by 2025. The region can leverage biomass, solar, wind, and low-impact hydropower to reduce reliance on conventional power, though this requires overcoming regulatory barriers such as restrictive third-party power pricing and insufficient interconnection rules. The document argues that a national or state-level renewable electricity standard (RES) would drive job growth and economic investment with minimal impact on consumer electricity costs.

• The Southeast region possesses enough renewable energy resources to satisfy as much as 30 percent of its electricity requirements within 15 years.
• Current utilization of feasible renewable power in the Southeast is low, with only about 43,000 GWh of a potential 360,000 GWh being harnessed.
• Biomass is identified as a primary source for near-term renewable electricity, capable of serving as an alternative to new coal and nuclear baseload plants.
• Solar PV is expected to increase its contribution to the region's power needs through 2020 and beyond as technology costs decrease, with North Carolina and Florida leading adoption.
• The region has significant untapped offshore wind potential in states such as Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia, which could potentially double or triple renewable production.
• Renewable energy development in the Southeast is hindered by regulatory barriers, specifically rules requiring third-party suppliers to price power at or below utility fuel costs.
• A national renewable electricity standard (RES) of 25 percent by 2025 could result in cumulative savings of over $6 billion on electricity and natural gas bills for Southeast states by 2030.
• The transition to renewables is projected to create more jobs than conventional power production, with estimates suggesting 10 to 35 job-years per million dollars of investment.
• Many Southeast states have poor regulatory frameworks for integrating renewables, with several receiving 'F' grades for net metering and interconnection rules.
• North Carolina was the first Southeast state to implement a Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Portfolio Standard (REPS) in 2007, requiring utilities to meet increasing percentages of retail sales from renewables.

APA

Creech, D., Metzger, E., del Pino, S. P., & Wilson, J. D. (2009). Local Clean Power: Renewable Electricity Opportunities in the Southeast United States. World Resources Institute. https://wriorg.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/pdf/southeast_local_clean_power.pdf

Chicago

Creech, Dennis, Eliot Metzger, Samantha Putt del Pino, and John D. Wilson. Local Clean Power: Renewable Electricity Opportunities in the Southeast United States. World Resources Institute, 2009. https://wriorg.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/pdf/southeast_local_clean_power.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Creech |first1=Dennis |last2=Metzger |first2=Eliot |last3=del Pino |first3=Samantha Putt |last4=Wilson |first4=John D. |title=Local Clean Power: Renewable Electricity Opportunities in the Southeast United States |publisher=World Resources Institute |date=April 2009 |url=https://wriorg.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/pdf/southeast_local_clean_power.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{creech2009local, author = {Creech, Dennis and Metzger, Eliot and del Pino, Samantha Putt and Wilson, John D.}, title = {{Local Clean Power: Renewable Electricity Opportunities in the Southeast United States}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, year = {2009}, month = apr, url = {https://wriorg.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/pdf/southeast_local_clean_power.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }