Duke Energy cites progress, new goals in 2018 Sustainability Report
Charlotte, N.C.-based Duke Energy neared the 40-percent carbon-free milestone and grew renewable energy generation 11 percent, according to the company’s newly released 2018 Sustainability Report.
“Our results in 2018 have set the stage to achieve our long-term vision,” said Lynn Good, chairman, president and CEO of Duke Energy, in the company’s 13th annual report. “Societal change is never easy, but we recognize it is our responsibility to leave a lasting, positive impact.”
Duke Energy — which reported $24.5 billion in revenue for the 12 months ending Dec. 31, 2018, a 4-percent jump from 2017 — achieved or is on track to achieve the majority of its sustainability goals, according to the report, which outlines progress in four categories: customers, growth, operations and employees.
“We’ve made significant progress on all fronts — from conservation and energy efficiency to the sustainable use of natural resources and generation of cleaner energy,” Good said. “We’ve reduced our carbon emissions by 31 percent from our 2005 levels and remain on track to reach our goal of 40 percent by 2030. All the while, we’ve kept rates for all customer classes below the national average.”
Specifically, Duke Energy last year relied on a balanced energy mix that included nuclear, natural gas, hydroelectric and coal. In 2018, roughly 38 percent of the energy produced by the company was carbon-free, according to the report.
“We’re looking at ways to accelerate the move to cleaner energy because we know it’s right for our customers, our communities and society at large,” Good said.
For example, Duke Energy reported it owned and purchased more than 7,100 megawatts (MW) of renewable energy in the forms of wind, solar, and biomass.
At the same time, Good said that the company’s energy efficiency initiatives helped customers reduce energy consumption and peak demand by more than 16,700 gigawatt-hours and 5,900 megawatts, respectively, since 2008.
“This reduction in consumption is more than the annual usage of 1.25 million homes and the peak demand reduction is equivalent to 10 power plants each producing 600 megawatts,” she said, adding that Duke Energy also installed 1.6 million smart meters last year, giving 62 percent of its total customers access to real-time information to help make smarter energy decisions.
Additionally, the publicly traded company also reported a drop in coal use of more than 50 percent from 2008 to 2018, largely attributable to the use of natural gas.
And while Duke Energy’s carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from its generation fleet remained relatively flat in 2018, overall its carbon emissions have dropped 31 percent since 2005. That puts the company on track to achieve CO2 emissions from its generation fleet by 40 percent in 2030 over the 2005 level, according to the report’s operations data.
“The lower-carbon future we all want requires a delicate balancing act with no one-size-fits-all solution, as it must be safe, reliable and affordable for all customers regardless of where they live,” said Good.
The CEO added that the company’s comprehensive plan through 2030 includes the retirement of coal and the investment in renewables, battery technologies, energy efficiency and natural gas.
“Our plan is also founded in a firm belief that carbon-free nuclear power — the workhorse of our fleet — is an essential part of any equation for a low-carbon future,” she said.
Duke Energy also has growth plans to invest more in energy storage and will install more than 400 MW of battery storage over the next 15 years, according to the report.
For instance, Duke Energy is planning to install a 5-MW battery storage system and 3 MW of solar in Indiana that will operate as a microgrid at the Indiana National Guard’s Camp Atterbury training operation. In Maryland, a similar microgrid project went online in 2018 at two government facilities.
“Batteries are not the only energy storage method. The company has more than 2,000 MW of pumped storage hydro power,” according to Duke Energy’s 2018 Sustainability Report.
Currently, for example, work is under way at the Bad Creek Hydroelectric Station in South Carolina to increase its pumped storage output by more than 300 MW, according to the report.
Several new goals also were listed in the operations category of Duke Energy’s sustainability plan, including a 2030 reduction in its release of toxic chemicals into water by half over 2016 levels, and to decrease its generation fleet’s water withdrawals to one trillion gallons by 2030 from the 2016 level of more than 5.3 trillion gallons.
Regarding Duke Energy’s customers category, in the six states where the utility has retail customers its electric rates were below the national average in all six states, according to Edison Electric Institute (EEI) summer 2018 data.
“Duke Energy is successfully reducing our environmental impact while keeping electric prices low for customers,” said Cari Boyce, senior vice president of stakeholder strategy and sustainability at Duke Energy. “It’s not a question of clean or affordable. We’re safely and reliably achieving both.”
For example, Duke Energy Kentucky residential rates were 9.95 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh), significantly lower than the United States average of roughly 14 cents per kWh, according to EEI’s data.
All of the company’s sustainability successes are just a start toward achieving even more sustainability goals in the future, said Good.
“We must work together to find solutions. Everything we collectively do — from championing research and development to finding consensus with legislators and stakeholders — is paramount in realizing this important vision,” she said.
