Welcome to Grid Brief! Here’s what we’re looking at today: Duke Energy’s green tariff plan approved by regulators, a new battery facility to be built in the Tar Heel State, and lessons for offshore wind.

North Carolina Regulators Approve Controversial Duke Energy Plan

Earlier this week North Carolina regulators green-lit Duke Energy’s Green Source Advantage Choice. The GSAC is a tariff that allows customers with clean energy goals, think Google or Amazon, to buy into solar projects and speed up their construction by two years.

An earlier version of the plan came under scrutiny from clean energy groups who argued over concerns of additionality and regulatory surplus. Under a 2021 state law, Duke must reduce its CO2 emissions by 95% by 2050. If the utility was legally required to build these solar projects, how could a company claim that its sponsorship was making a difference?

Duke Energy’s revised scheme, which is expected to be formalized soon, addresses these concerns by allowing companies to sponsor 150 megawatts worth of solar projects that Duke has not selected in its competitive bidding process. Then, every two years, Duke will get retroactive credits for this “extra” solar as part of its compliance with the 2021 law, according to Elizabeth Ouzts of Energy News Network.

While the Green Source Advantage Choice applies only to solar projects, Duke is expected to propose a more technology-inclusive Clean Transition Tariff later this year. This scheme will allow companies to sponsor solar-plus-storage and nuclear power projects.

$1.4 Billion Sodium-Ion Battery Facility to be Built in NC

Staying in the Tar Heel State, Natron Energy has announced that it will build a large battery facility in eastern North Carolina.

Natron Energy’s sodium-ion batteries present several advantages over the lithium-ion batteries on the market. The cost of these batteries is less volatile than that of lithium-ion. At the same time, sodium-ion batteries do not use cobalt and other rare earth minerals whose supply chains are controlled by China and sourced with child labor.

Given the size of its batteries, Natron currently works with large industrial customers like data centers and oil drillers who need rapid, quick bursts of backup energy to level electricity output. It is unclear when Natron will be able to shrink the size of its batteries to power EVs.

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Conversation Starters

• Why a VA offshore wind farm succeeded when others failed (E&E News)

  Dominion Energy’s Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project, off the coast of Virginia Beach, will be the nation’s largest offshore wind farm when it is up and running in 2026. The success of this project is an outlier in an industry that has suffered from supply chain constraints and high interest rates.

• Kraft Heinz looks to climate-proof its ketchup (Bloomberg)

  Extreme weather and record heat are forcing Kraft Heinz to find ways to climate-proof its tomatoes. The company is investing significant resources into creating a more resilient crop.

• Poll finds significant support for nuclear power among Gen Z (Wall Street Journal)

  A poll found that 4 out 5 first-time voters supported deploying “new generation” nuclear to support the build-out of renewables in the U.S.

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