Duke Energy initiative lets customers match 100% of their energy use with renewables
Residents across North Carolina will be able to match up to 100% of their energy use with renewable energy due to a new initiative from Duke Energy.
Through Charlotte-based Duke’s Renewable Advantage program, announced Thursday, all Duke customers will be able to match all or a portion of the energy they use by purchasing 250 kilowatt-hour blocks of clean energy.
The renewable energy they purchase will go to the Duke Energy power grid, not to individual homes. The initiative will allow customers to decrease their carbon footprint by reducing traditional electricity generation that relies largely on fossil fuels and nuclear energy.
Previously, only large companies could match their energy use with renewable energy through the company. The new initiative lets homeowners, renters and small business owners join in that.
Each 250 kWh block of renewable energy will cost $3 per month, according to a statement from Duke Energy. By purchasing four blocks, or 1,000 kWh per month, customers can equal the amount of electricity the average home in North Carolina uses each month, Duke says.
Customers can purchase as many blocks as they like. The fees will be added to customers’ bills.
Purchasing four blocks of Renewable Advantage energy each month would reduce a customer’s electricity carbon footprint by 9,449 pounds of carbon dioxide each year, Duke’s website says. The energy purchased through Renewable Advantage will consist of 95% solar energy and 5% biomass energy, Duke said.
More than half of Duke Energy’s generation in the Carolinas is carbon-free, and this initiative gives customers more options to customize their energy mix, Stephen De May, Duke Energy’s North Carolina president, said in a statement.
Fifty cents from every $3 block of renewable energy purchased will be donated to NC GreenPower’s Solar + Schools program. The program provides grants of up to $27,000 for K-12 schools in North Carolina to install educational solar arrays. One of Solar + School’s 2020 grant recipients was Hidden Valley Elementary School in Mecklenburg County.
This story was originally published June 25, 2020 at 10:34 AM.
