Duke Energy has reached an agreement with solar installers, environmental groups and renewable energy advocates that, if approved by regulators, will create long-term stability for the residential solar industry in South Carolina.
The proposed plan – Solar Choice Net Metering – could be the next generation of net energy metering for the Carolinas, a billing process that credits small customers with rooftop solar arrays for excess electricity they generate and provide to Duke Energy via the grid. The deal will provide options for customers while allowing the company to address increasing electric demand periods in the winter for the benefit of the company’s systems and customers in both North Carolina and South Carolina.
Solar Choice Net Metering will include retail rates that vary based on the time of day and when utilities experience peak demand. It will also give customers the ability to install a smart thermostat with their solar panels and receive an incentive for the combination.
“This package modernizes the rooftop solar transaction,” says Lon Huber, vice president for rate design and strategic solutions at Duke Energy. “This new arrangement not only recognizes the value of solar and the enabling energy grid, but it unlocks additional benefits for all customers by addressing when utilities experience peak demand across their systems in the Carolinas.”
The organizations taking part in the effort include renewable energy advocates Vote Solar and North Carolina Sustainable Energy Association; the Southern Environmental Law Center on behalf of Southern Environmental Law Center, Upstate Forever and Southern Alliance for Clean Energy; and rooftop solar installer Sunrun. Each organization that is part of the agreement will continue to advance the proposal to other stakeholders and ultimately regulators.
The agreement builds on the goals of the South Carolina Energy Freedom Act (Act 62). The 2019 legislation is the result of a collaborative and bipartisan effort to develop the next steps for energy policy in South Carolina that support the state’s continued commitment to solar energy development.
If approved by regulators, the company anticipates a transitional tariff to be available on June 1, 2021, to allow for a full transition into the new plan on or before Jan. 1, 2022.
Rootop installers seem to gouge homeowners with ROIs of 7-12 years. Glad to see homeowners get compensated @ “retail rates” but knowing Duke Energy, the devil in their details will not be much of “net metering” as we want to think. Duke is too big and powerful to let any state legislature push them around. NC’s embrace of PURPA in 2014 only lasted about 2 years before Duke got control of the situation to stop the bleeding of outsourced generation @ avoided costs where everyone (myself included) got 5MW CPCN appications submitted (I had 10). Duke killed the NC industry… Read more »