Tag Archives: Carolinas

Duke Energy Unveils Commercial Solar Leasing In Carolinas

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent

In an effort to bring 1 MW of commercial solar development to the Carolinas, Duke Energy has unveiled a solar leasing program to serve those consumers. Their application to be a solar lessor needs to be approved by the North Carolina Public Utilities Commission (NCPUC).

Duke Energy Clean Energy Resources (DECER), a non-regulated affiliate of the company, will build, own and operate on-site solar facilities that will allow customers to access renewable energy without a large upfront investment.

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“Customers want more solar power for their operations, but the large upfront investment can be an obstacle,” said Rob Caldwell, president, Duke Energy Renewables and Distributed Energy Technology. “Through DECER, we will be competing to provide customers a turnkey solar solution to meet their renewable energy goals, while managing the ongoing operations and maintenance of the facility.”

Caldwell added that DECER will target businesses and will mainly use local solar construction and maintenance companies to work on projects.

Residential, commercial and nonprofit customers can still take advantage of Duke Energy’s $62 million solar rebate program, which has four more years left to help North Carolina customers with solar installations.

Under DECER’s offering, companies can negotiate for solar facilities up to 1 megawatt of capacity – roughly 100 times the size of a typical residential home system. The agreement will have a term of up to 20 years. Customers will be able to use 100 percent of the electrical output of the facilities and be eligible for any rebates and net-metering options offered by Duke Energy. DECER will handle all the ongoing maintenance of the facilities.

The ability to offer such services was included in last year’s Competitive Energy Solutions for North Carolina law – also known as HB 589.

Before beginning operation in North Carolina, Duke Energy must receive approval from the NCUC. Complete details of the NCUC filing can be found here. Duke Energy can already offer such services in South Carolina.

Duke Energy Plans To Invest $500 Million In Energy Storage

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent

It may not seem like much. After all, it only works out to 37.5 MWh per year. But Duke Energy’s decision to invest $500 million for energy storage in conjunction with its solar portfolio in the Carolinas is still big, given the utility’s ongoing love/hate relationship with solar energy.

The investment will take place over 15 years and will increase battery capacity in North Carolina from its current 15 MW capacity and in South Carolina, well – right now you need a microscope to see its battery storage, so any increase would be immense.

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“Duke Energy is at the forefront of battery energy storage, and our investment could increase as we identify projects that deliver benefits to our customers,” said Rob Caldwell, president, Duke Energy Renewables and Distributed Energy Technology. “Utility-owned and operated projects in North Carolina and South Carolina will include a variety of system benefits that will help improve reliability for our customers and provide significant energy grid support for the region.”

This week, the company filed for a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity with the North Carolina Utilities Commission for a solar facility in the Hot Springs community of Madison County as part of a microgrid project.

The Hot Springs Microgrid project will consist of a 2-megawatt (AC) solar facility and a 4-megawatt lithium-based battery storage facility. The microgrid will provide a safe, cost-effective and reliable grid solution for serving the Hot Springs area, and provide energy and grid support to all customers. The project will defer ongoing maintenance of an existing distribution power line that serves the remote town.

The Hot Springs project is part Duke Energy’s Western Carolinas Modernization Project, which involves on-going conversations with community partners to help advance a cleaner energy future for the region. It includes closing a half-century-old, coal-fired power plant in Asheville in 2019. The plant will be replaced with a cleaner natural gas-fired plant and distributed energy resources like solar power and battery storage.

Duke Energy’s long-term solar strategy has traditionally been a “solar for me but not for thee” formulation, building large-scale utility solar farms it controls while both subtly (and not-so-subtly) undermining rooftop solar in the Carolinas.