Duke Energy is executing an aggressive clean energy transition to achieve its goals of net-zero methane emissions from its natural gas business by 2030 and net-zero carbon emissions from electricity generation by 2050.

To achieve these goals, they have established an interim carbon emission target of reducing electric generation carbon emissions by at least 50% by 2030, and 80% by 2040.

Duke Energy sees battery energy storage systems as an essential element to speed their clean energy transition, providing a source of electricity to the grid when intermittent generation sources like wind and solar cannot. In this endeavor they are planning to place more than 1,600 MW of BESS in service by 2029.

In the past, they placed into service a 9-MW lithium-ion BESS next to a Duke Energy substation in the Shiloh community, near Asheville, NC and 4-MW lithium-ion BESS that is part of a microgrid for the town of Hot Springs, NC in Madison County.

And most recently, they placed into service their largest BESS in North Carolina, an 11 MW BESS in Onslow County. However, this is a lithium-iron phosphate BESS with a system rating of 11MW / 11MWh. It will be operated in conjunction with an adjacent 13-MW solar facility located on a leased site within Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, which has been generating carbon-free energy since 2015. These two sites operate independently, and they are connected to a Duke Energy Progress substation.

Currently, Duke Energy’s regulated utilities have about 90 MW of battery energy storage projects in operation in three states.

Duke Energy’s utilities serve 8.2 million customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Indiana, Ohio, and Kentucky, and collectively own 50,000 MWof energy capacity. Its natural gas unit serves 1.6 million customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Ohio, and Kentucky. The company employs 27,600 people.