Duke Energy rolls out solar rebates, seeks new renewable energy capacity in N.C.

Duke Energy recently announced plans to distribute $62 million in solar rebates to its customers in North Carolina over the next five years. The utility is also looking to add 680 megawatts (MW) of new renewable capacity in the Carolinas.

According to Duke, the rebate program is “expected to more than double the number of private solar energy customers in North Carolina over the next five years.”

Adding the 680 MWs of renewables will be achieved via the filing of a request for proposal for companies to build large-scale solar or other renewable facilities in the Duke Energy territories of North Carolina and South Carolina. The proposals that companies submit may include power purchase agreements, utility self-developed facilities or asset acquisitions. The facilities, which Duke said will lead to better prices for solar energy for customers and improve geographic distribution of projects to boost reliability, must be placed in service prior to Jan. 1, 2021. The future 680 MW of solar capacity at peak capacity will be enough to power more than 100,000 homes.

The Competitive Energy Solutions for North Carolina legislation recently signed into law by Gov. Roy Cooper is spurring the moves. “This law resulted from about a year of work with legislators and stakeholders to craft a positive piece of legislation,” said David Fountain, Duke Energy’s North Carolina president, in a written statement. “The shifting dynamics of the political landscape never deterred our team from working in the best interests of our customers.”

According to Duke, the rebate program will make residential customers “eligible for a rebate of 60 cents per watt for solar energy systems 10 kilowatts (kW) or less. A typical rooftop array of 8 kW would be eligible for a $4,800 rebate. Installed systems 10 kW or greater would be eligible for a maximum rebate of $6,000.”

North Carolina is currently ranked second by the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) in cumulative amount of solar electric capacity installed through 2016, trailing only California. Peter M. Schwarz, professor of economics and associate at the Energy Production and Infrastructure Center (EPIC), UNC Charlotte said, “Most of the solar is utility-scale, driven by the state’s renewable portfolio standard requirements, although we have far exceeded the solar set-aside.”

The U.S. Energy Information Administration notes that North Carolina is one of the nation’s top producers of electricity from nuclear power, surpassing the amount produced from coal in 2015. Almost 30 coal plants have been retired in the state since 2015 while the reliance on natural gas has increased.

Schwarz believes solar is helping to fill in the gap left by coal. He says, “coal use is dropping rapidly, natural gas is increasing, nuclear is steady, but Duke has no plans to construct additional nuclear energy. Solar is speeding the drop in coal, in addition to natural gas.”

Although the state is No. 2 in solar capacity most of it comes from off-site as Duke buys more solar than it generates. The recently passed legislation allows Duke to recover costs associated with the purchases through a fuel clause rider.

Randy Wheeless, a spokesman for Duke, said, “We buy a lot more solar than we generate ourselves. In the old days we went in for a rate case to recover those costs, which can be a little bit inefficient. So we can now collect those costs in our fuel clause rider. We really don’t make any money on purchased power; it’s just a pass-through to customers.”

Duke Energy said it operates more than 20 wind facilities and 60 solar facilities in about 20 states. In 2017, the company increased its renewable energy capacity 20 percent, according to its latest Sustainability Report. Duke’s goal is to own and purchase 8,000 MW of wind, solar and biomass capacity by 2020.