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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60 ENERGY CROSSROADS
Natural Gas Scenario 2051 Capacity Mix
18%
7%
14%
20%
40%
Coal
Natural Gas (CC)
Natural Gas (CT)
Hydro
Nuclear
Onshore Wind
Utility Solar
Community Solar
Offshore Wind
Storage
Solar+Storage
SOURCE: CENTER OF THE AMERICAN EXPERIMENT
f 20 percent combustion turbine natural gas
f 18 percent nuclear
f 14 percent utility solar
f 7 percent hydro
f 1 percent onshore wind
Generation Mix
The initial North Carolina generation mix in the Center’s models includes:
f 33 percent nuclear
f 27 percent combined cycle natural gas
f 25 percent coal