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INSIDE THIS ISSUE: DEPARTMENTS Doctors see North Carolina 2 Local Government 10 direct care, CAROLINA Education 14 From Page 1 12 monthly fees Books & the Arts 18 as insurance Interview 19 alternative /3 Opinion 20 JOURNALA MONTHLY JOURNAL OF NEWS, ANALYSIS, AND OPINION Parting Shot 24 FROM THE JOHN LOCKE FOUNDATION December 2015 Vol. 24 No. 12 STATEWIDE EDITION Check us out online at carolinajournal.com and johnlocke.org Analysts Call Apple Renewable Energy Claims ‘Lies’ and will continue to purchase electric- ity from Dominion Power, the local Maiden data center Solar Farm 1 utility. The wind farm is not and can- not be connected directly to Amazon’s gets all of its power Virginia data center. Apple representatives have re- New data center fused to answer a series of queries from Duke Energy under construction BY DON CARRINGTON Original data center from Carolina Journal seeking details Executive Editor completed in 2010 about the company’s electricity con- RALEIGH sumption at the data center or details alifornia-based Apple promotes about the sources it uses to offset en- its 500,000-square-foot data cen- ergy purchased from Duke. ter in Maiden, N.C., by saying it Apple power arrangements Cruns “100 percent” on renewable en- ergy even though the facility continues Apple owns a 20-megawatt solar to get all of its electricity from Duke Fuel cell farm and a 10-megawatt fuel cell sys- Energy, a public utility that primarily installation tem adjacent to the data center, but the generates electricity using coal, nucle- Duke Energy electricity generated by the solar farm ar power, and natural gas. substation and fuel cell system is sold to Duke But an Austria-based researcher and does not provide power for the who is familiar with the project called building. Apple’s claim “a boldfaced lie” — a The fuel cell system runs on sentiment echoed by state House Ma- Apple’s data center in Maiden, North Carolina, opened in 2010 and continues to be natural gas purchased from Piedmont jority Leader Mike Hager, R-Ruther- served by Duke Energy. The fuel cell installation and solar farm were announced Natural Gas even though Apple has ford, who chairs the Joint Legislative two years later. They are not physically connected to the data center. (CJ photo by used promotional materials to sug- Commission on Energy Policy. And Don Carrington) gest it actually runs on biogas from a former economist with the Federal does not make it clear that the energy Apple is not alone in making nearby landfills. Apple has a second Energy Regulatory Commission called powering the Maiden facility comes such claims. Amazon Web Services has solar farm located about 11 miles away the claim “misleading.” from Duke Energy’s traditional mix of stated that the energy produced by a in Conover. A third solar farm is locat- Apple bases its claim on the con- fuels. There are no public records sup- 22,000-acre wind farm near Elizabeth ed six miles away, and a fourth solar cept that it “offsets” power purchased porting the details of Apple’s offset City will power a data center near farm is located nine miles away. They from Duke by generating power from concept as a way of measuring its par- Dulles International Airport in Virgin- renewable sources, even though Apple ticipation in renewable energy. ia. In fact, the data center is purchasing Continued as “Analysts,” Page 12 McCrory, Cooper Agree on Syrian Refugees PAID Cooper issued his Nov. 18 state- RALEIGH, NC U.S. POSTAGE PERMIT NO. 1766 ment several hours after North Caroli- NONPROFIT ORG. Resettlement groups na Republican Party Executive Director Dallas Woodhouse called on Cooper call request for halt and Durham attorney Ken Spaulding, both Democratic candidates for gover- ‘small-minded panic’ nor, to make their positions known. Woodhouse asked if the Demo- BY DAN WAY crats “support[ed] what the gover- Associate Editor Gov. Pat McCrory A.G. Roy Cooper nor, 10 members of the congressional RALEIGH delegation, and the leadership of the he day after Gov. Pat McCrory “As chief law enforcement offi- General Assembly, as well as other joined more than 30 other U.S. cer of North Carolina, I support asking governors do,” freezing the refugee governors in seeking a halt in the federal government to pause refu- resettlement program while ensuring Tthe flow of Syrian refugees into their gee entries to make sure we have the screening procedures to keep potential states, N.C. Attorney General Roy most effective screening process pos- terrorists out. Cooper agreed with McCrory’s call for sible so our humanitarian efforts are “As a person who was born and a moratorium, citing security concerns not hijacked,” said Cooper, a Democrat raised in segregation, I know person- while angering refugee resettlement who’s running against Republican Mc- The John Locke Foundation 200 W. Morgan St., #200 Raleigh, NC 27601 groups. Crory in next year’s election. Continued as “McCrory,” Page 13 PAGE 2 DECEMBER 2015 | CAROLINA JOURNAL NORTH CAROLINA C A R O L I N A Rouzer: EPA Water, Energy Rules Stifling Economy BY DAN WAY selves from competitors,” Rouzer said. “And that’s in large JOURNAL Associate Editor part why the big guys get bigger and the small guys are WILMINGTON going out of business.” Rick Henderson .S. Rep. David Rouzer, a Johnston County Repub- A vibrant economy requires getting rid of “these stu- Managing Editor lican, says federal rules and regulations “are just pid rules and regulations that are making it so difficult on stifling this economy,” and the final Waters of the our small business owners and entrepreneurs, level the Don Carrington UUnited States rule proposed by the U.S. Environmental Pro- playing field for everybody, have a sound energy policy, Executive Editor tection Agency could be devastating for North Carolina. have a sound agriculture policy, and have good infrastruc- Nearly his entire 7th Congressional District “will in es- ture,” Rouzer said. Mitch Kokai, Michael Lowrey sence become classified as a wetland” under jurisdiction of Noting that the price of energy is transferred to every Barry Smith, Kari Travis the EPA if the courts don’t reverse the law, said Rouzer. product and most services through the economy, Rouzer Dan Way “Imagine said a sound en- Associate Editors what that means ergy policy would in terms of per- lower electricity Kristen Blair, Roy Cordato mitting, what that costs. That would Becki Gray, Sam A. Hieb means in terms of be key to jolting Lindalyn Kakadelis, Troy Kickler George Leef, Donna Martinez extra costs,” the the economy into Harry Painter, Jenna Ashley Robinson freshman congress- higher productivity Marc Rotterman, Jesse Saffron man said Nov. 12 and reducing the Jay Schalin,Terry Stoops at Americans for $18 trillion national Andy Taylor, Michael Walden Prosperity North debt. Contributors Carolina’s Free the Yet the EPA’s Grid Tour event in Clean Power Plan Joseph Chesser, Zak Hasanin Wilmington. is designed to force Catherine Koniecsny, Charles Logan The EPA rule a reduction in use Austin Pruitt, Matt Shaeffer “will have very of the least expen- Interns dire consequences” sive fuel sources, for the homebuild- especially coal, at ing industry, con- an enormous cost Published by struction at large, The John Locke Foundation to the states and the and especially ag- 200 W. Morgan St., # 200 economy, he said. riculture, Rouzer Raleigh, N.C. 27601 Even residen- said. “That’s a sig- (919) 828-3876 • Fax: 821-5117 tial wood stoves www.JohnLocke.org nificant proportion are in the EPA’s of the economy not crosshairs, Rouzer only here in the 7th Seventh District Republican U.S. Rep. David Rouzer, at a Nov. 12 event in Wilm- Jon Ham said. A constituent District, but also in ington, said the federal Waters of the United States rule proposed by the Envi- Vice President & Publisher the state of North ronmental Protection Agency will enable nearly every part of his district to be in Wayne County Carolina.” declared off- limits as a wetland. (CJ photo by Dan Way) who manufactures Kory Swanson wood heaters alert- President While most Americans are aware of Obamacare, and its costly rules and ed him to a new EPA rule affecting those appliances. John Hood regulations, Rouzer said, attention needs to be paid to the “In essence, they’re trying to make it so much more Chairman EPA because of the impact its “idiotic rules” and regulatory costly to manufacture a wood heater that it prices it out of overreach are having on the economy. the marketplace,” Rouzer said. “Energy sector expenditures are going to go up” un- Charles S. Carter, Charles F. Fuller “The EPA alone, since this president took office, has is- Bill Graham, John M. Hood sued more than 3,100 new final regulations,” Rouzer said of der the Clean Power Plan, said Donald Bryson, state direc- Christine Mele, Baker A. Mitchell Jr. the Obama administration’s pattern of issuing regulations tor of AFPNC. Paul Slobodian, David Stover when Congress has not passed legislation the president pre- On average, a North Carolina residential energy bill J.M Bryan Taylor fers. would be $434 higher by 2020, representing a 22 percent Board of Directors “I’ve co-sponsored legislation to repeal the Waters of rate hike, Bryson said, affecting low-income people most the USA rule,” he said. “If we could just repeal every rule Carolina Journal is severely. a monthly journal of news, and regulation that this administration has put into place A study by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Institute analysis, and commentary on in the last seven years that would do more for the economy for 21st Century Energy of the Clean Power Plan concluded state and local government than anything I know of.” that one-fifth of job losses nationally — 59,700 — will be in and public policy issues in He noted that employment levels today are similar to the South-Atlantic region, which includes North Carolina.

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