Duke Energy begins operation of largest battery storage facility in North Carolina

Duke Energy has begun commercial operation of an 11-MW battery storage project in Onslow County, North Carolina – the state’s largest battery system.

The new battery system will be operated in conjunction with an adjacent 13-MW solar facility located on a leased site within Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune. The two sites can also be operated independently.

“Battery storage is an important resource for our transition to cleaner energy,” said Kendal Bowman, Duke Energy’s North Carolina state president. “Pairing the energy storage system with our existing solar facility at Camp Lejeune helps strengthen the reliability of our energy grid and makes better use of our existing solar generation.”

The battery storage and solar facilities are connected to a Duke Energy substation and will serve all Duke Energy Progress customers.

“Through an enhanced use lease (EUL) and strategic partnership with Duke Energy Progress, Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune has been able to make an important investment in the pursuit of energy security inside the fence-line,” U.S. Navy Cmdr. Ross Campbell, director, Public Works at MCB Camp Lejeune. “Integration of the solar plant with a battery energy storage system, unthinkable a decade ago, presents the installation with a number of opportunities to achieve energy resilience objectives. These systems are part of the ongoing collaboration with the Department of Defense and its utility providers to ensure energy security at federal facilities.”

OCI, a subsidiary of Black & Veatch, served as the prime contractor for engineering, procurement, and construction.

This is just the latest battery storage project in North Carolina for Duke. In the city of Asheville, a 9-MW lithium-ion battery system is operating next to a Duke Energy substation in the Shiloh community. In the town of Hot Springs, the company has a 4-MW lithium-ion battery system that is part of a microgrid in the town.

Currently, the company’s regulated utilities operate about 90 MW of battery energy storage projects in three states. Duke Energy expects to have more than 1,600 MW of battery storage in service by 2029.