“One of the state's focal points to do this is to move away from the state's historical reliance on coal-fired power plants for electricity and replace them with ‘greener’ power sources.”

“A review of comments shows clear dissatisfaction with Duke Energy’s proposed Carbon Plan, which critics say put arbitrary limits on solar and assumes technology will emerge to run fossil fuel power plants without emissions.”

Why this is important: In the context of Duke Energy’s efforts to comply with HB 951, a North Carolina law obligating the utility to reduce its carbon emissions by 70 percent by 2030 (subject to some delay) and ultimately, 100 percent by 2050, these two articles note that a number of voices oppose the utility’s proposal to invest more heavily in natural gas power plants and instead favor greater investment in currently available clean technologies like solar, wind, and batteries. What is missing in both of these articles, however, is a recognition of the different operational characteristics of these various resources. Quite simply, solar, battery, and wind are dependent upon the source of their power – namely the wind to blow, the sun to shine, or a generation resource to charge the battery. It is myopic to view the need for carbon-free energy in a vacuum. Equally important to ensuring a clean energy transition is the need to ensure that energy is affordable and available when customers need it. It is unclear whether, if not entirely unlikely, a more substantial investment in solar, wind, and battery can provide the reliable and affordable energy that customers depend upon. --- Carrie H. Grundmann