Duke Energy Proposes 'Community Solar' and Other Renewables Programs for N.C.

Duke Energy Corp. plans to seek bids for at least two megawatts worth of “community solar” projects in North Carolina this year under proposals filed with regulators to comply with a new state law expanding access to renewable energy options for its utility customers.

Community solar programs involve a central solar project which sells shares to residential or business customers who want to use solar power to offset some of their monthly power use. Charlotte-based Duke (NYSE: DUK) proposes to have subsidiaries Duke Energy Carolinas and Duke Energy Progress each seek competitive bids for a one-megawatt solar project in their respective service areas in North Carolina.

Challenge of NC Law Aims to Open Solar Markets

When Duke Energy connected the solar panels on the roof of a Greensboro church to its grid last week, solar advocates gained a symbolic but tentative victory.

Faith Community Church serves as a test of a North Carolina law that says only public utilities like Duke can directly sell electricity.

The advocacy group NC WARN owns the $19,000 solar array and wants to sell the electricity it generates to the church, despite the law, for about half what Duke charges.

New Law Could Crush North Carolina's Solar Industry

House Bill 332 may send jobs elsewhere.

In the last seven years, North Carolina has climbed to the forefront of solar installation in the United States thanks to progressive regulations put in place in 2007 that set mandatory minimums on how much renewable energy utilities must sell their customers. Some in the solar industry say a new law in the state legislature aims to bring that progress to a screeching halt.

An Update on State-Level Clean Energy News From Around the Country

In the last few weeks, state-level stakeholders around the country have been busy reforming renewable portfolio standards, proposing changes to net metering policies, and studying the potential effects of the EPA’s Clean Power Plan. Also, in an unprecedented move, the Hawaii state legislature voted to make electricity generation 100 percent renewable by 2045.

More on these developments in our state dispatch below.

As action unfolds in the states, there’s also been some meaningful activity on clean energy at the federal level in recent weeks. Sen. Angus King, an Independent from Maine, introduced a bold piece of legislation last week designed to promote personal energy independence through advanced technologies. The bill would ensure that distributed energy resources are able to be connected to the grid in a reasonable timeframe for a reasonable price, and with reasonable compensation for the benefits they offer utilities. Also last week, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) introduced legislation that would boost funding for smart grid technology.

In other federal news, the Supreme Court announced that it would hear the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's Order 745 demand response case. Also in the courts, judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals of the District of Columbia Circuit appear likely to dismiss the first legal challenge to the Clean Power Plan.

And now to the states.