Gov. Cooper visits Fayetteville in push to boost training for clean energy jobs
Gov. Roy Cooper greeted students at Fayetteville Technical Community College (FTCC) today to highlight its clean energy workforce training programs, including teaching skills to maintain and build solar panels.
"We're seeing more companies that want to move to North Carolina, and don't want to have a carbon footprint," Cooper said. "So, we want to make it easier for them to connect to the grid and to be able to be carbon zero."
As students in FTCC's large EV workshop were programming software and tinkering under hoods, Cooper stressed the workforce needs to support EV adoption, including having more skilled workers for maintaining vehicles and expanding charging infrastructure across the state.
Cooper says he believes it's our moral obligation to fight climate change and make the state more resilient.
"But even if you don't favor that, you need to be supporting the clean energy economy, because if you go talk to any CEO of car company, they will talk about how they are hand over fist rushing as fast as they can to become a leader in the EV market," Cooper said.
Currently, the transportation sector emits the most greenhouse gases in the state.
Cooper said today that North Carolina has set a goal to get 1.25 million EVs on the road by 2030.
"I believe we can get there too," he said. "But we're going to need people to be able to fix those cars and we're going to need the workforce that's ready for the clean energy economy."
A recent report from the North Carolina Sustainable Energy Association and RTI International, shows the state has seen an economic impact from clean energy of more than $59 billion over the past 15 years. The state has received $31 billion of direct investment associated with clean energy deployment alone.
"We've seen more than 50 counties with more than $100 million in investments made in clean energy and some of the most economically distressed counties within the state are standing to benefit the most," said Matt Abele, executive director of the NC Sustainable Energy Association.
In 2021, the Governor signed a bipartisan law requiring state utility providers to reduce carbon emissions by 70% from 2005 levels by the year 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.
On the tour, NCDEQ Secretary Elizabeth Biser said training courses like the ones offered at Fayetteville Tech are helping to achieve environmental and climate goals by supporting the clean energy transition.
Cooper said he is disappointed in recent legislative efforts that could slow progress toward climate goals.
"It's unfortunate that they are passing laws that put dents in this effort to move to a clean energy economy, but what they've done is certainly not going to stop it," Cooper said. "This is a move that is happening across the globe, we already have a foothold in our state, and we will become an epicenter for clean energy."
