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North Carolina Must Avoid ‘Bulldozer Transition’ to Solar • NC Newsline

Posted on by darion

North Carolinians concerned about climate change should be aware that Duke Energy is moving toward an “aggressive timeline” of land seizures in the state’s southeast. The utility is poised to use solar projects in “red zones” as a pretext to build profitable transmission projects whose land corridors would be cleared through expropriation. Rural communities must be protected from this profit grab by Duke Energy for moral and political reasons.

Map of red zones and planned transmission projects.
Image Source: NC WARN

Duke Energy wants just one type of solar energy—huge solar fields in southeastern North Carolina on cheap land the utility calls red zones. Their “Portfolios” section Karolina’s Resource Plan (see page 3) calls for at least 11.8 gigawatts of utility-scale solar energy by 2035..

The utility, by contrast, has long opposed rooftop solar installations, which allow panel owners to generate and sell their own electricity. Duke Energy’s anti-solar campaign scored a major victory in March 2023 when the North Carolina Utilities Commission (NCUC) weakened the net metering (NEM) policy that had previously led to an increase in rooftop solar installations. The NEM decision was challenged in court by NC WARN, a climate nonprofit.

There is another reason Duke Energy does not like independent solar power. If people and businesses install panels on their roofs, the power is generated very close to where it is used, reducing the need for transmission projects. On the other hand, if Duke Energy receives permission to build solar fields in southeastern North Carolina, it could argue that new power lines are needed to transmit the power to population centers in the Triangle.

To understand why Duke Energy wants to build power lines, just look at how they make their money. For many projects, the utility has a government-backed guarantee (see page 157) of about 10 percent return on equityWhen Will NCUC Give Duke Energy Permission to Spend Money for anythingthe utility makes money. Such an incentive structure would perhaps be acceptable, if odd, if the NCUC had firm control over Duke Energy.

But Duke Energy is a political juggernaut that can ensure NCUC compliance. The utility has long been able to secure orders for unwise projects simply to increase its own profits. Transmission projects in southeastern North Carolina are set to be a new, glaring example.

The utility plans to spend $75 billion on grid investments over the next 10 years, according to Duke Energy’s Third Quarter 2022 Earnings Review and Business Update (see page 18). Duke Energy operates in many states, but a proportional allocation of $75 billion to North Carolina would be in the tens of billions. The incentive structure and antipathy to the NEM meshed to create a cynical profit opportunity.

If Duke Energy’s “land grab and grid scheme” goes ahead, all North Carolinians would be hurt, but not equally. For example, a ratepayer living in Boone would see his electric bill go up and money wasted. But many people in red-zone communities like Whiteville, Rockingham and Hope Mills could lose their homes and land. Expropriation would be needed to clear corridors of land up to 200 feet wide.

Displacing rural communities for unnecessary transmission projects would be deeply unfair. Duke Energy would loudly claim that land seizures are the price of more renewable energy, risking massive political backlash against all green initiatives in North Carolina. Victims of red-zone dispossession could also become easy prey for climate-change deniers and fossil fuel industry critics who peddle lies and wild conspiracy theories.

The climate movement has long emphasized the need for a just transition in which green policies take into account the interests of those affected. For example, while the fossil fuel industry must eventually end, policies can and should be aimed at ensuring that affected workers are trained and get jobs in sustainable industries.

Instead of a Just Transition, Duke Energy and NCUC risk creating a Bulldozer Transition in southeastern North Carolina. People in the red zone deserve protection from the utility’s fraudulent and destructive plan.