Utility Dive offers Insight into Duke Energy’s Vision for Renewables Portfolio

On April 28, 2020, Duke Energy released a pair of reports outlining the company's recent accomplishments and path to advance its critical environmental, social, and governance (ESG) initiatives. A 2019 Sustainability Report details Duke Energy's performance in four key areas  - customers, growth, operations, and employees. Duke Energy's 2020 Climate Report discusses how the company is addressing climate change by reducing carbon emissions and making its electric grid more resilient.

Utility Dive, an online publication covering energy topics, published a review of Duke Energy's plans and reports the next day. Robert Walton, a reporter with Utility Dive, wrote his insights in an article titled, "Duke to double renewable capacity in 5 years, but critics say utility lags on storage deployment."

In a "Dive Brief" Walton states:

• Duke Energy on Tuesday announced plans to add 8,000 MW of wind, solar and biomass by 2025, which would bring its total renewables portfolio to 16,000 MW.
• The utility currently owns or purchases around 57,000 MW of total energy capacity, which puts it at about 14% renewables. Duke is aiming to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.
• While many applaud the progress Duke has made to reduce carbon emissions, critics also see fault in the utility's decision to continue relying on natural gas resources and want to see a greater investment in energy storage to enable more renewables. "Our own modeling in North Carolina indicates that there may be a cheaper, cleaner solution to get Duke on track," Amanda Levin, climate and clean energy policy analyst at Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), told Utility Dive.

Read Robert Walton's full report with "Dive Insight" at THIS LINK.