Duke Energy is betting new battery-storage facilities will help it use more renewable energy
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Duke Energy's new battery-storage facility in Knightdale, N.C. Photo: Zachery Eanes/Axios
If Duke Energy intends to meet a state-mandated goal of being carbon neutral by 2050, then it's going to need to build more large-scale battery facilities like the one it recently opened in the suburbs of Raleigh.
Why it matters: The new battery-storage facility in Knightdale can run 100 megawatts of power for up to two hours, and represents nearly half of all of Duke Energy's battery storage built in the state so far.
- That's the equivalent of powering up to 7,000 homes for two hours, and it's a critical technology for making sure solar power can be used when it is most needed, like early mornings in the winter before the sun rises.
Driving the news: The new facility opened at the end of last year and can be recharged by all types of energy sources. But Duke Energy officials say it is key to making better usage of carbon-neutral energy sources like solar.
What they're saying: Ben Williamson, a spokesperson for Duke Energy, said a problem that the energy company has is that when its solar plants take energy from the sun, they have to put it on the grid right away.
- Battery storage "makes all of those solar facilities more efficient because instead of having to use that solar right away, you're charging batteries to dispatch" when it's most needed, Williamson said.
- That, in theory, could reduce the need to crank up natural gas or coal production during peak demand hours, like early mornings in the winter.
State of play: Across the Carolinas, Duke Energy now has around 250 megawatts of battery storage capabilities.
- But by 2034, the goal is to have 5 gigawatts of it. That will take the construction of roughly 56 more of the facilities like exists in Knightdale at the moment throughout the state.
The big picture: Duke Energy is hardly alone in this. Battery storage installations rose 29% last year across the U.S., Axios recently reported.
What's next: Duke Energy believes battery storage technology will continue to get better in the coming years, Williamson said, and it is already testing longer-duration batteries at its testing facilities outside Charlotte.