Everything Duke Energy leaders propose is very high risk, extremely costly and would guarantee failure for climate efforts
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said recently that world leaders must quickly find “an exit ramp off the highway to climate hell” and slammed fossil fuel “godfather” corporations such as Duke Energy for driving climate chaos.
Despite the horrifying weather disasters pummeling civilization this summer, Duke leaders plan to greatly expand their use of fossil fuels, gamble our future on high-risk and super-costly transmission and failed nuclear technologies, and suppress clean energy climate solutions.
NC WARN is convinced: There is no chance of North Carolina helping avoid Guterres’ “climate hell” unless the public demands a rapid and large expansion of local solar-plus-storage.
That’s why NC WARN is proposing Sharing Solar, under which all Duke Energy’s customers can share in the costs and benefits of clean energy much like we currently pay for polluting power plants – through the electric rate system. Scores of organizations and businesses already support the proposal.
In written testimony proposing Sharing Solar to regulators in the Carbon Plan docket, NC WARN engineer Rao Konidena describes how local solar-plus-storage (SPS) is the fastest, cheapest and fairest way to meet our climate goals. His key points include:
Sharing Solar is Fastest
- “Distributed solar and battery storage [e.g. on roofs, parking areas, vacant land] can be scaled up rapidly, is fully proven, has a short lead time, and provides maximum resiliency in extreme weather conditions (pg. 33).” NC has excellent solar installers to meet the challenge.
- Duke’s proposed “small” nuclear reactors, switching gas-power to hydrogen and controversial new transmission corridors with giant solar farms would all take decades – if ever – to complete. As Konidena wrote, “The Commission should be concerned about the risk inherent in Duke Energy’s [carbon plan proposal] related to long lead time (in years) … compared to short lead time (in months) for distribution level components (pg. 31).”
Sharing Solar is Cheapest
- It’s well-accepted that utility-scale solar power (solar farms) is now less expensive than new gas- or nuclear-fueled power plants. New solar-plus-storage is becoming even cheaper and more reliable. “[Distributed Generation] resources, specifically rooftop and parking lot solar plus battery storage, reduces or eliminates the need for new, high-cost transmission capacity to deliver remote utility-scale solar power (pg. 35).”
- “When the transmission costs are added to the cost of [new] utility-scale solar, commercial /warehouse [rooftop or ground-mounted] solar is $12/MWh less costly than utility-scale solar in 2024 with cost savings increasing in future years (pg. 49).”
Sharing Solar is Most Equitable
- Sharing Solar would expand the solar market to low- and middle-income businesses and homes by eliminating the direct cost of installation and, instead, sharing the costs and benefits with all customers.
- “It is the [eastern NC] communities that are the most vulnerable to climate-related weather disasters resulting in electricity outages. Utility-scale solar is not going to help vulnerable communities in the aftermath of a storm (pg. 28).” … “Adding more rooftop solar with storage …” reduces their risk of outages.
- “[Sharing Solar] allows for marginalized communities [to] have access to clean energy much sooner than utility-scale resources [solar farms] (pg. 40).”
Duke Energy’s Guarantee for Climate Failure
Duke Energy plans to greatly expand fracked methane gas for power plants – while knowing they’ll never replace gas with hydrogen – and bet on false nuclear and transmission solutions that are high risk, high dollar and too slow to help the climate crisis.
Engineer Konidena’s testimony shows why approval of Duke’s plan would ensure climate failure and continued injustice. As he wrote, the Utilities Commission “should not approve resources that are a ‘maybe’ (pg. 10).”
- “If hydrogen proves cost prohibitive to produce, Duke Energy will continue to burn natural gas in 1,000s of MW … beyond 2050 (pg. 33).” … “Duke Energy does not have a backup plan if [hydrogen cannot replace gas] (pg. 25)” …
- “[Small modular reactors] will be high cost, high environmental risk, and are technologically unproven (pg. 33).” Duke projects its first SMR would operate in 2034 – completely out of line with climate science and market realities.
- Duke’s planned expansion of solar farms would begin much too late to help with the climate crisis due to long lead times to install utility-scale solar. “Duke Energy’s dependence on long lead time equipment such as high voltage transmission and large power transformers has increased (pg. 28).”
- “Duke Energy doubled down on utility-scale resources even though new customer electric service needs are location and site-specific (pg. 27).”
Science demands dramatic changes now – not “maybe technologies” in the 2030s. Duke Energy’s plans would guarantee failure for climate efforts. Are North Carolina leaders wise and brave enough to at least force a fair, open discussion about our future?
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Now in its 36th year, NC WARN is building people power in the climate and energy justice movement to persuade or require Charlotte-based Duke Energy – one of the world’s largest climate polluters – to make a quick transition to renewable, affordable power generation and energy efficiency in order to avert climate tipping points and ongoing rate hikes.
