trending Market Intelligence /marketintelligence/en/news-insights/trending/37CDWWMEQh7zRGMJ4tmv7w2 content esgSubNav
In This List

Duke utilities plan for more solar-plus-storage in updated NC resource plans

Podcast

Next in Tech | Episode 49: Carbon reduction in cloud

Blog

Using ESG Analysis to Support a Sustainable Future

Research

US utility commissioners: Who they are and how they impact regulation

Blog

Q&A: Datacenters: Energy Hogs or Sustainability Helpers?


Duke utilities plan for more solar-plus-storage in updated NC resource plans

Duke Energy Corp.'s two North Carolina utilities submitted updates to their 2018 integrated resource plans that include expanding solar-plus-storage and using natural gas to address immediate generation needs.

Duke Energy Carolinas LLC and Duke Energy Progress LLC expect to need nearly 300 MW of additional battery storage paired with solar, with about one-third of that capacity going to Duke Energy Progress and the rest going to Duke Energy Carolinas, according to Sept. 3 filings with the North Carolina Utilities Commission.

In their 2018 integrated resource plans, the utilities called for 290 MW of pure energy storage. But in the 2019 updates to their plans, the utilities said they expect solar-plus-storage projects to grow. They noted that the two winning solar-plus-storage projects of North Carolina's Competitive Procurement of Renewable Energy program have provided some guidance on how to pursue the emerging class of power plants. North Carolina's and South Carolina's proposed avoided cost rate structures also indicate "strong price incentives" for these types of plants "to shift energy from lower priced energy-only hours to hours that have higher energy and capacity prices."

"This new rate design provides appropriate incentives to encourage storage plus solar projects," both utilities wrote. "The amount of solar coupled with storage represented in the IRP will change over time as conditions evolve, but these initial assumptions represent a first step towards including such installations."

Duke Energy awarded contracts for 602 MW of renewable energy projects in April, in compliance with a 2017 law that created a competitive procurement framework for the utility. Though both utilities noted that certain regions may soon be "saturated with solar, it is [Duke Energy's] belief that continued declines in the installation cost of solar and storage will enable solar and coupled 'solar plus storage' systems to contribute to growing energy needs," the company said in the IRP updates.

In recent years, North Carolina policymakers have pushed efforts to boost clean energy and encourage utilities to pursue renewables. In August, the state's Department of Environmental Quality released the state's draft clean energy plan, which suggests that the power sector could reduce emissions by between 60% and 70% below 2005 baseline levels by 2030 through accelerated coal plant retirements, more aggressive renewable targets and either a carbon reduction or cap target. The initial recommendations stem from Gov. Roy Cooper's 2018 executive order for the state to address climate change and embrace clean energy.

No additional coal retirements

Neither utilities' updated plans had additional coal retirements compared to their 2018 original plans. However, North Carolina utility regulators ordered on Aug. 27 that the Duke Energy utilities must submit an analysis examining whether operating the remaining coal-fired units is the least-cost alternative compared to supply-side or demand-side resources, or if the coal capacity "fulfills some other purpose that cannot be achieved in a different manner."

In addition, the companies' 2020 resource plan must include a scenario that does not assume coal to be part of their generation portfolio until the energy facilities are fully depreciated. Instead, the utilities will need to model the plants' continued operation "under least cost principles" and include coal ash cleanup costs in any cost comparison with alternative generation resources.