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NC’s new daring development with Denmark
TUE.| 3-28-23 | OPINION
Clean, renewable energy sources have been looked into and researched a lot in the past few years. With the obvious impacts that fossil fuels have had on the environment, people have become more and more aware of the problem and are seeking solutions.
The North Carolina government has recently set their sights on working toward the use of clean energy and, with this ambitious prospect, they needed to find someone to help them out. This is where Denmark came in. The European country of Denmark is the most efficient around the globe in clean energy production with almost 70% of all their energy coming from renewable sources, namely wind energy. With the knowledge of this record, North Carolina reached out and the two governments ended up forming a pact to work together towards more clean energy usage in North Carolina and, eventually, in all of
Graphic by Jack Albritton
the United States. I have always been very interested in a positive step towards clean energy for the environment, so I think this is a great step for the state of North Carolina to be taking.
The guidelines of the pact is for Denmark to help North Carolina in building three wind energy sites off the coast of the state. North Carolina has a very good central location offshore with strong winds and shallow waters, so it is perfect for wind energy farms. According to witn.com, Governor Roy Cooper has established a goal to eventually produce eight gigawatts of clean energy, which is enough to power up to 2.3 million homes. If more coastal states end up taking after the example currently being set by North Carolina, the conversion to renewable energy can finally take place and we could slow down the constant pollution of our country. I think that this plan is ambitious, but with the right support and commitment it will be possible and could benefit a lot of American citizens.
Clean energy resources have been around for quite a few years now, with solar and wind energy taking off in the early 2000’s. However, hardly anyone has been really using it to its full potential. This is partially because clean energy resources are very expensive and require frequent maintenance and a large area in order to be used efficiently. As the technology has advanced more in recent years, they have become more affordable, but still are difficult to manage and utilize effectively. With the new affordable resources, more local clean energy production has started to appear. Last year, a solar panel was installed in front of Rose as an environmental project and was especially supported by the science program. It is great to see the school moving toward cleaner energy along with the rest of the state.
North Carolina’s pact with Denmark to create offshore wind energy farms could be the start of a cleaner America. These are the steps that we need to take in order to keep our country and our planet intact. With Denmark’s expertise on renewable energy, North Carolina should be able to greatly increase the wind energy industry and reduce air and water pollution. The only main downside of clean energy production is the cost of it all, but with the help of the American government and Denmark, that should not be too much of a problem. I hope that this pact works out well and that the wind farms can produce energy efficiently.
