(Story is updated with Gov. Josh Stein’s comment.)
Environmental advocates in North Carolina slammed Duke Energy’s long-term vision for power generation, as disclosed this week in a regulatory filing. But the state’s main business-promotion organization praised the report.
The Charlotte-based utility’s biennial “Carolinas Resource Plan” provides insight into how it expects to provide electricity for its nearly 4 million N.C. customers over the next decade. The N.C. Utilities Commission will receive comments on the required plan from a variety of groups over the next three months, then make a ruling late next year.
The NC Chamber notes the plan “projects that future bill impacts will remain below inflation while adding nuclear, natural gas, solar, and storage resources to expand capacity. These priorities closely align with the NC Chamber Foundation’s Business-Driven Energy Vision, which highlights predictable costs, grid resiliency, and an all-of-the-above energy mix as foundations for economic growth.”
Duke’s plan comes amid soaring demand for power. The company expects growth over the next 15 years that is eight times greater than the past 15, mainly because of data centers needed for artificial intelligence computing.
Much of the criticism about Duke’s plan involved the proposal to extend the life of its coal-fired plants until 2040, while showing a reduced emphasis on solar energy.
“Duke Energy is retreating from the state’s clean energy future that can continue to bring good jobs and lower costs to North Carolina,” Gov. Josh Stein said in an emailed statement. “In its plan, Duke has eliminated wind, reduced solar, and delayed nuclear while increasing our dependence on price-volatile natural gas and coal. I call on the utilities commission to require significant changes to secure a clean and affordable energy future for North Carolinians.”
N.C. lawmakers earlier this year passed a bill that reduced the commission to five members from seven, while two former Republican legislators, Bill Brawley and Tommy Tucker, were appointed to the panel.
“Duke proposes to greatly increase methane gas for power and experimental nuclear plants while extending its burning of coal for at least 15 years,” according to longtime company critic Jim Warren, executive director of the NC WARN nonprofit in Durham. “The plan slashes projections for large-scale solar and continues its suppression of rooftop solar. This would put billions into the rate system, leading power bills to double or triple over time while driving even more weather disasters that are devastating North Carolina communities.”
At the Southern Environmental Law Center, attorney David Neal said Duke’s plan is too reliant on “expensive new gas power plants, leaving North Carolina families on the hook for escalating fuel costs and making it harder to reach the 2050 carbon neutrality requirement. Duke yet again appears to have fallen short of taking full advantage of energy efficiency, load flexibility, renewables, and storage, which remain the cheapest and fastest suite of options for meeting rising demand.”
The Environmental Defense Fund, the largest U.S. environmental group with more than 3 million members, noted that Duke’s plan “reaffirms that large amounts of solar and battery storage remain the cheapest choice to meet growing demand, even without a short-term carbon reduction requirement.”
Continued declines in battery prices could displace Duke’s plans for more natural gas-fired power plants, Will Scott, EDF’s Southeast climate and clean energy director, said in a release.
Duke contends that its proposed generation mix, which calls for additional capacity from nuclear energy starting in 2037 and the addition of several new gas plants, provides the best balance for reliability and affordability. It noted that low energy prices compared with national averages is helping North Carolina attract new employers and investment at a record pace.
Duke’s plan comes as the GOP-led Congress, N.C. General Assembly and the Trump Administration have struck down subsidies that helped make solar and wind power the main source of additional U.S. power generation over the past decade.
Duke is the fourth-largest U.S. electric utility based on market capitalization of $94 billion. Its shares have gained about 66% over the past five years, including reinvested dividends, compared with a 116% gain in the S&P 500 Index.
David Mildenberg is editor of Business North Carolina. Reach him at dmildenberg@businessnc.com.