Duke Energy rolls out home solar pilot program in North Carolina

Duke Energy has launched a pilot program for installing home solar generation with battery energy storage in its Duke Energy Carolinas and Duke Energy Progress service areas in North Carolina.

The incentive-based program, called PowerPair, is designed to help make a home solar plus battery system more affordable for customers. It offers up to $9,000 in incentives for residential customers who install a solar plus battery system. The pilot was recently approved by the North Carolinas Utility Commission (NCUC).

“PowerPair gives Duke Energy an added tool to provide more reliability to solar energy, which in turn benefits all customers as North Carolina grows in population,” Lon Huber, Duke Energy’s senior vice president of pricing and customer solutions, said. “And by participating, customers are helping to support the state’s clean energy goals.”

Participants receive a bill credit each month for enrolling in a qualifying battery storage system and meeting program requirements, including internet connectivity. Participants will have two enrollment options. They can enroll in the PowerPair pilot on a residential solar choice rider (RSC) or through a net metering bridge rider (NMB) and receive a one-time incentive of up to $9,000. NMB customers will be required to enroll in the new Power Manager and EnergyWise Home Battery Control option. They will receive the additional monthly bill credits for their participation.

“As we continue to strengthen our grid and bring clean energy resources online, our customers are important partners in our clean energy future – and can receive upfront and potential ongoing financial incentives for coupling solar power and battery storage on their residential systems,” Huber said. “These programs enable Duke Energy to maximize the use of popular consumer technologies to support the overall energy grid.”

The RSP window for the PowerPair program will be four weeks in length, allowing customers time to apply on the Duke Energy website.

Participating PowerPair customers must employ a Duke Energy Trade Ally, a solar and battery installer that has been approved by Duke Energy.

North Carolina has approximately 45,000 customers who generate power with solar panels with a total capacity of about 350 megawatts. The state ranks fourth in the nation for overall solar power.