Summary of Senate Bill 747

• Requires North Carolina's investor-owned utilities to enter into long-term contracts for 2,500 megawatts of qualifying offshore wind generation to be constructed over 7-10 years, with the first facility operational by December 31, 2017.

• Directs the Utilities Commission to issue a request for proposals (RFP) by January 1, 2012, with contracts for minimum 350-megawatt projects including 20+ year energy sales, renewable energy certificates, and environmental credits.

• Requires the Department of Commerce to evaluate proposals based on net economic benefit analysis over 20 years, considering job creation, ratepayer costs, tax revenue, environmental impacts, and energy security.

• Allows participating utilities to recover all costs through rate riders limited to the first 300,000 kilowatt-hours of annual customer sales, and requires 50% of proceeds from renewable energy certificate sales to be refunded to customers.

• Establishes tax incentives for wind energy property manufacturing facilities with lower investment requirements ($10-50 million depending on location) and extends the renewable energy tax credit for wind equipment through 2020.