Governor Cooper Announces Peter Ledford to Serve as North Carolina Clean Energy Director

Today, Governor Roy Cooper announced that Peter Holderness Ledford will serve as North Carolina Clean Energy Director. In this position, Ledford will further the state’s goals laid out in Executive Order 246, including achieving carbon neutrality, pursuing environmental justice for communities disproportionately impacted by pollution and creating economic opportunities in the clean energy sector. 

“Peter Ledford has the years of experience, knowledge and dedication needed to help North Carolina as we move toward a clean energy economy,” Governor Cooper said. “I’m grateful he’s willing to continue serving our state in this important position.”

“I’m deeply honored to be selected by Governor Cooper to be North Carolina's next Clean Energy Director. I’m ready to put my experience working at the NC General Assembly and practicing before NC Utilities Commission, and my relationships with stakeholders and the clean energy industry to work, so we can make more progress on the important issues of clean energy, reducing carbon emissions, and the associated economic benefits for all North Carolinians," said Ledford.

Peter Ledford currently serves as General Counsel and Director of Policy at the North Carolina Sustainable Energy Association where he has served in various capacities since 2014. Prior to his work at NCSEA, Ledford worked in the Research Division of the North Carolina General Assembly as a staff attorney and legislative analyst. He has also worked in varying legal capacities, including as a Fellowship Attorney for the Southern Environmental Law Center. Ledford is a member of the Board of Directors for the Advanced Energy Corporation and a recipient of Energy News Network’s 40 Under 40 list.  

Ledford graduated from the University of North Carolina in 2006 with a bachelor's degree in Geography and from the Wake Forest University School of Law in 2011.

Ledford succeeds Dionne Delli-Gatti as North Carolina Clean Energy Director. In this role, Delli-Gatti was a lead negotiator for House Bill 951, putting carbon reduction requirements for utilities into state law, and helped craft Executive Order 246, which required a government and stakeholder-driven Clean Transportation Plan, set administration goals for environmental justice and continued North Carolina’s transition to a clean energy economy. Delli-Gatti returned to a senior role at the Environmental Defense Fund earlier this year.

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