Duke Energy enters into agreement with major corporations in the Carolinas

Posted on May 31, 2024 by Dave Kovaleski

Duke Energy is working with several large corporations to explore new approaches that will help it better meet the energy needs of large businesses in North and South Carolina.

Specifically, Duke Energy has entered into agreements with Amazon, Google, Microsoft and Nucor to develop new rate structures, called utility industry tariffs, designed specifically to lower the long-term costs of investing in clean energy technologies.

Proposed Accelerating Clean Energy (ACE) tariffs would enable large customers such as Amazon, Google, Microsoft and Nucor to directly support investments in zero-emission energy generation through innovative financing structures and lower costs for emerging technologies.

The ACE framework would also include a Clean Transition Tariff (CTT), which would enable Duke Energy to deliver customized portfolios of new zero-emission energy to commercial and industrial customers. ACE tariffs would make it easier to generate energy on-site at customer facilities, participate in load flexibility programs and invest in clean energy assets.

CTT would match clean energy generation to customer load to accelerate overall grid decarbonization. This would be a voluntary program for larger customers looking to achieve their clean energy goals.

“In this new era of large-scale energy demand, Duke Energy is committed to working with regulators and customers to find innovative and responsible ways to meet the growing demand for more and cleaner energy. With the help of companies like Amazon, Google, Microsoft and Nucor, we can accelerate customer demand and the transition to cleaner energy while reducing financial risk and supporting economic development in our communities.” – Lon Huber, vice president of pricing and customer service solutions at Duke Energy, he said.

Kevin Miller, vice president of global data centers at Amazon Web Services, said the deal would help the company meet its climate goals.

“As the world’s largest corporate buyer of renewable energy, Amazon is committed to enabling new sources of zero-emission energy to help power our business and the communities where our customers live and work. With a presence of data centers, fulfillment centers and corporate buildings in Ohio, the Carolinas and Florida, we are excited to work with Duke Energy to find new solutions that will help us achieve our climate commitment of net zero carbon emissions by 2040 and today The agreement is an important step on this path,” Miller said.

Duke Energy serves 8.4 million customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky. Its natural gas businesses serve 1.7 million customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Ohio and Kentucky.