Advocates define dangers of North Carolina Utilities Fee approval of Duke’s inflexible, outdated useful resource plan proposal.
Maggie Shober | June 12, 2024
| Coal, Fossil Gasoline, North Carolina, Utilities
Electrical energy is a necessity for contemporary life, so it will be important that the electrical energy system be versatile, resilient, and constructed to reduce dangers.
It’s no secret that the electrical energy sector is in a time of transition. Our electrical energy system was initially constructed round massive, long-lived, monopoly-owned belongings — sometimes massive, fossil-fueled powerplants — that had been designed for the one-way movement of electrical energy to inflexibly meet demand. That method was comprehensible for its time, however is proving to be financially and operationally inflexible within the face of evolving know-how and new local weather extremes.
Throughout this time of fluidity in electrical energy coverage and demand, and as we proceed to face the impacts of local weather change, Duke Power continues to suggest main new investments in long-lived, fossil-fuel powerplants that can probably turn out to be costly relics. As a substitute of evaluating methods to take away limitations to maneuver sooner on clear power, Duke’s proposed Carbon Plan proposes to double down on more and more dangerous fossil fuel and to proceed to function previous, expensive, clunky coal. SACE joined with Sierra Membership and NRDC, represented by the Southern Environmental Legislation Heart, together with the NC Sustainable Power Affiliation, to submit testimony to the North Carolina Utilities Fee (NCUC) explaining the dangers of Duke’s proposed plan.
Duke Power’s Proposal
Each two years, Duke Power has to file a “Carbon Plan and Built-in Useful resource Plan,” or CPIRP, for approval by the NCUC, outlining its forecasted load, together with plan to fulfill that load for its clients within the Carolinas and obtain the state’s carbon air pollution discount necessities. Equally, each three years, Duke has to file an Built-in Useful resource Plan (IRP) for approval by the South Carolina Public Service Fee (PSC). In 2023, these two necessities aligned, and Duke filed the identical plan in each states in August (In NC in Docket E-100 Sub 190, in SC in Dockets 2023-8-E and 2023-10-E. Nonetheless, Duke got here again to each Commissions just some months later with an replace: the utility reported that it had under-estimated near-term load progress. In January 2024, Duke up to date its proposed plans with each Commissions primarily based on increased load progress projections.
The CPIRP and IRP are key steps to deciding what sources Duke will develop, together with large-scale technology initiatives, renewable power contracts, and demand-side applications. Organizations and corporations can intervene at these Commissions, which means can current arguments in help of or vital of Duke’s plan, with an intention of the Fee making a well-informed resolution for an inexpensive useful resource plan. SACE and co-intervenors submitted testimony from 4 consultants:
- Maria Roumpani offered testimony on dangers related to Duke’s plan and ways in which Duke’s modeling favors new fuel sources;
- Jake Duncan’s testimony focuses on the necessity to incorporate consideration of distributed sources;
- Jim Wilson offered testimony on issues with Duke’s load forecast and useful resource adequacy examine;
- Michael Goggin’s testominy showcases the necessity for higher transmission planning and enhancements to the method for interconnecting of fresh power sources.
This put up offers an outline and the context of the case we’ve made about Duke’s proposed Carbon Plan. Future blogs will go deep into the problems surrounding reliability and key assumptions underlying Duke’s defective plan.
Learn the Weblog Sequence on Duke’s 2024 CPIRP
Duke’s proposed plan doesn’t handle key limitations to deploying clear power sources like photo voltaic and storage on the scale and tempo wanted to fulfill demand. As a substitute, Duke limits these sources or provides synthetic value adders in its modeling, ensuing within the delay of retiring previous, expensive, clunky coal crops. These modeling selections additionally drive Duke to suggest the addition of recent fuel crops that, if constructed, would solely be helpful for a short while and wouldn’t adjust to new federal air pollution limits. As Roumpani acknowledged in her testimony, inclusion of those fuel sources “stems from a synthetic lack of options at a time of excessive load progress.”
Fossil technology, each coal and fuel, carry pointless dangers to the electrical system, to our pocketbooks, and to the surroundings. And as soon as constructed, fossil energy crops can persist for many years — committing future generations to dwell with these dangers. Duke’s plan to maintain coal technology sources on-line previous their beforehand deliberate retirement dates is in battle with Duke’s personal acknowledgement of the challenges these crops face: gas provide points, declining workforce, lack of vital elements, and getting old items.
“Even when these massive fuel belongings had been the least-cost possibility on this snapshot in time – which they aren’t— they shouldn’t be thought of a part of a least-cost, least-risk method as they’re locking ratepayers right into a system that proof suggests may turn out to be very costly.” ~Maria Roumpani testimony filed with the NCUC on Could 28, 2024 within the CPIRP, Docket E-100, Sub 190
As Dr. Roumpani factors out, “evidently the timing of retirements is primarily pushed by [Duke’s] intention to spend money on one other fossil gas useful resource that carries a number of the identical dangers: pure fuel.” The dangers of fuel had been made clearly evident in 2022, when value spikes pushed by the battle in Ukraine had been handed instantly on to clients and when Duke minimize off energy on Christmas Eve due to failures throughout the fuel system and at fuel energy crops themselves. As soon as occasions like these happen, there may be little a Fee can do to blunt the influence on ratepayers. Thus Roumpani “calls for added scrutiny in instances like the present CPIRP—earlier than prices are incurred.”
The Solely Fixed is Change
Change is the regulation of life, and people who look solely to the previous and current are sure to overlook the longer term. -John F. Kennedy
The electrical energy sector is altering at unprecedented velocity that requires unprecedented innovation. The plan Duke offered to the NCUC in January does broaden the tempo of renewable power additions in comparison with the current day, and it would regularly retire coal. BUT, given the large scale of monetary, reliability, and environmental dangers that attend Duke’s proposed new, multi-decade extension of fossil gas dependence, it’s not as much as the problem of assembly load in a dependable and reasonably priced manner within the dynamic future we face.
Dr. Roumpani states that, as Duke’s personal modeling exhibits, “clear power sources needs to be added as quick as attainable. I like to recommend that the Fee approve the photo voltaic, wind, and battery storage procurement ranges recognized within the Firms’ [near-term action plan from its portfolio designed to comply with the 2030 carbon pollution reduction requirement] as a ground and instruct Duke to current a plan on how extra clear sources could possibly be interconnected.”
We’ve offered loads of evidenced-based causes for the NCUC to direct Duke to cease trying to the previous and to as an alternative deal with a resilient clear power future.
Learn the Weblog Sequence on Duke’s 2024 CPIRP
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