Charlotte committee reviews updated Strategic Energy Action Plan, adds interim goal and community renewable-energy target

Charlotte’s Transportation Planning and Development Committee on Feb. 3 heard an update on the city’s Strategic Energy Action Plan (SEAP), including a new climate‑risk assessment, a 2023 greenhouse‑gas inventory and revised emissions goals for the community and municipal operations.

City sustainability staff said the SEAP revision aligns the city’s targets with leading climate guidance, adds a midterm 2035 community emissions benchmark and proposes a new community renewable energy installation target between 600 megawatts and 1,000 megawatts by 2035.

The update was presented by Sarah Hazel of the Office of Sustainability and Resilience and Robin Byers, the SEAP project manager, with technical detail from consultant Julian Joy. They said the climate risk assessment used guidance from CDP and the Global Protocol for Community‑Scale Greenhouse Gas Inventories (GPC) and applied two “book‑end” scenarios — a lower‑carbon pathway and a higher‑emissions pathway — to test risks such as extreme heat and severe thunderstorms.

Robin Byers said the team is proposing a community target to reduce greenhouse‑gas emissions by roughly 72 percent by 2035 to about 3.56 metric tons CO2e per capita and to reach net zero by 2050. The plan also recommends a municipal electricity target to source a percentage of municipal building electricity from zero‑carbon sources by 2030 and reach net zero municipal building emissions by 2050. Byers told the committee the municipal goals are narrower (focused on electricity) to align with scientific accounting and near‑term feasibility.

Julian Joy said the 2023 inventory shows transportation remains the largest emissions source for Charlotte and noted some decreases reflect methodological updates, local data quality improvements, a cleaner regional electric grid and greater uptake of electric and more efficient vehicles. He said the inventory followed GPC guidance and included stationary energy, transportation and waste.

Committee members asked about practical implications and the city’s role in helping residents and businesses adopt technologies. Committee chair Ed Driggs and others pressed for clarity on which strategies will cost money and what incentives the city might offer to accelerate rooftop solar, building electrification and vehicle electrification. Byers said the city plans more stakeholder conversations before finalizing the renewable‑energy installation target and emphasized the team expects to return to council with specific actions and funding options in March and an adoption process in April.

Staff noted the SEAP update builds on prior work, including Charlotte Future 2040 and the city’s Sustainable Facilities Policy, and cited peer‑city benchmarking such as the One Planet City Challenge methodology. The presenters said the SEAP will include implementation strategies next month, with a continued emphasis on climate justice and community engagement.

The committee did not take formal votes on the plan during the Feb. 3 update; staff said they are seeking additional feedback and will bring the draft SEAP back for discussion and potential adoption in April.

Background: the SEAP update used publicly‑available accounting protocols and climate guidance (CDP, GPC, WWF One Planet City Challenge) and relies on local data for 2023 emissions. The city stressed that community‑wide goals are influenceable but not fully controllable by the municipality alone.

What’s next: staff will incorporate committee feedback, continue public engagement, publish proposed strategies in March and present the full SEAP update for adoption in April 2025.