Energy Crossroads: Exploring North Carolina’s Two Energy Futures
North Carolina’s Clean Energy Plan, a proposal put together by the Department of Environmental Quality at the behest of Governor Roy Cooper, calls for a 70-percent reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from electricity by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2050. Duke Energy has submitted Integrated Resource Plans that include pathways to the Clean Energy Plan targets. Duke Energy’s Portfolio D most resembles the Clean Energy Plan, deploying wind, solar, and battery storage on an unprecedented scale. This report assesses North Carolina’s existing electricity portfolio, analyzes the changes proposed by Duke Energy’s Portfolio D, and compares that scenario to alternatives that utilize nuclear energy and natural gas to achieve emissions reduction rather than the Clean Energy Plan’s preferred wind, solar, and battery storage.
North Carolina’s Clean Energy Plan, a proposal put together by the Department of Environmental Quality at the behest of Governor Roy Cooper, calls for a 70-percent reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from electricity by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2050. Duke Energy has submitted Integrated Resource Plans that include pathways to the Clean Energy Plan targets. Duke Energy’s Portfolio D most resembles the Clean Energy Plan, deploying wind, solar, and battery storage on an unprecedented scale.
This report assesses North Carolina’s existing electricity portfolio, analyzes the changes proposed by Duke Energy’s Portfolio D, and compares that scenario to alternatives that utilize nuclear energy and natural gas to achieve emissions reduction rather than the Clean Energy Plan’s preferred wind, solar, and battery storage.
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52 ENERGY CROSSROADS
Portfolio D Scenario 2051 Capacity Mix
5%
9%
16%
Coal
Natural Gas (CC)
5%
Natural Gas (CT)
Hydro
18%
Nuclear
Onshore Wind
24%
Utility Solar
Community Solar
6%
11%
4%
Offshore Wind
Storage
Solar+Storage
SOURCE: CENTER OF THE AMERICAN EXPERIMENT
f 6 percent combustion turbine natural gas
f 6 percent offshore wind
f 6 percent onshore wind
f 5 percent hydro
f 2 percent storage
In 2051, nuclear, natural gas, and hydro account for 62 percent of electricity
generation. Wind, solar, and storage account for the remaining 38
percent.
Operating Costs by Energy Source
The Center’s modeling shows that by 2035 and through 2051, Portfolio
D would still rely most heavily for electricity generation on nuclear and
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