Remember that Christmas Eve blackout? NC can avoid a repeat. | Opinion
Welcome to NC Voices, where leaders, readers and experts from across North Carolina can speak on issues affecting our communities. Send submissions of 350 words or fewer to opinion@newsobserver.com.
Offshore wind will keep the lights on
The writer is president of the Southeastern Wind Coalition.
On Christmas Eve, half a million North Carolinians were impacted by rolling blackouts during an extreme cold snap. It brought electric reliability to the forefront of public thought once again.
Duke Energy said the cause of the blackouts was a combination of reliance on unavailable purchased power from neighboring utilities and under-performance from key energy resources: two coal plants and a natural gas one. The plants were impacted by weather, causing components to freeze and drastically reduce energy production. Their backup, generators in neighboring utilities, had no power to spare since they experienced the same cold snap.
Importantly, the utility explained that the rolling blackouts had absolutely nothing to do with reliance on solar or other forms of renewable energy, which performed without incident throughout the extreme cold.
The key to reliable power flow and a resilient grid is diversity. As demonstrated on Christmas Eve, natural gas and coal can’t always perform at 100% during extreme conditions.
One energy resource North Carolina has yet to take advantage of is offshore wind energy. A combination of offshore and land-based wind will be a key component to diversifying and strengthening our grid reliability and resiliency in the state as we shift to a decarbonized energy system.
Wind turbines offer built-in storm resilience with their ability to feather their blades out of the wind when gusts are too extreme, otherwise providing a significant amount of power as weather systems blow through. Based on the strong wind profiles throughout the time of the blackouts, a 1600 MW project off the coast of North Carolina would have produced enough energy to fulfill the deficit that the Duke Energy grid experienced.
A reliable grid isn’t just about the quantity of resources, but having the right resources at the right time. With several potential offshore wind projects off the coast of North Carolina, the question changes from, will we want to include offshore wind in our energy portfolio, to how soon can we get offshore wind online to keep our grid reliable and resilient.
Katharine Kollins, Raleigh
NC needs highly skilled nurses
The writers are Sen. Gale Adcock, D-NC 16, a family nurse practitioner, and Rep. Donna White, R-NC 26, a registered nurse.
As of 2022, North Carolina had 97 counties designated by NC DHHS as Health Provider Shortage Areas. That’s why we have co-sponsored the SAVE Act, now crucial to Medicaid expansion.
If passed by the N.C. General Assembly, the SAVE Act would grant advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) full practice authority, giving patients access to direct care from 17,000 APRNs in North Carolina.
Recent data shows that North Carolinians overwhelmingly support lifting restrictions on APRNs to widen the pool of available healthcare providers across the state. Eliminating outdated barriers for APRN care will dramatically improve the accessibility gap, particularly in underserved communities where primary care providers are most scarce.
Expansion of Medicaid in North Carolina will further increase the need for primary care providers, making it even more necessary for APRNs to fill this gap. Medicaid expansion will benefit communities, and APRNs will strengthen these benefits.
As nurses with decades of experience, we know firsthand the value APRNs bring. As nurse practitioners, clinical nurse specialists, certified registered nurse anesthetists and certified nurse-midwives, they provide a wide range of healthcare services for North Carolinians daily. Studies consistently show they provide high-quality care comparable to that of physicians.
Research by economist Peter Buerhaus found APRNs just as effective as physicians at diagnosing and treating similar patients. Freeing APRNs from outdated laws and regulations will expand access to quality care for patients while substantially lowering healthcare costs, without costing the state money. Now is the time for North Carolina to join the 26 states that have already granted full practice authority to APRNs.
Sen. Gale Adcock
Rep. Donna White
