CDN NEWS | 
US NEWS 
Oct. 10, 2018, by Jennifer Runyon
(Renewable Energy World)
This week Duke Energy said that it plans to deploy about $500 million of battery storage capacity over the next 15 years, which it estimates to be equivalent to about 300 MW of capacity. (MWh of capacity was not specified.) The storage capacity investment is written into its latest Integrated Resource Plan (IRP)
Combining battery storage from all utilities, North Carolina has only about 15 megawatts of battery storage capacity in operation, and far less in South Carolina, so the IRP represents an almost 20-fold increase in storage for the region.
As the grid operator, Duke Energy can maximize the versatility of storage beyond storing and dispatching of energy to include other customer and system benefits such as system balancing and deferral of traditional grid upgrades.
“Duke Energy is at the forefront of battery energy storage, and our investment could increase as we identify projects that deliver benefits to our customers,” said Rob Caldwell, president, Duke Energy Renewables and Distributed Energy Technology.
“Utility-owned and operated projects in North Carolina and South Carolina will include a variety of system benefits that will help improve reliability for our customers and provide significant energy grid support for the region.”
Hot Springs Microgrid On Track
This week, the company filed for a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity with the North Carolina Utilities Commission for a solar facility in the Hot Springs community of Madison County as part of a microgrid project.
The Hot Springs Microgrid project will consist of a 2-MW (AC) solar facility and a 4-MW lithium-based battery storage facility. The microgrid will serve the Hot Springs area, and provide energy and grid support to all customers. The project will defer ongoing maintenance of an existing distribution power line that serves the remote town.
The Hot Springs project is part Duke Energy’s Western Carolinas Modernization Project, which involves on-going conversations with community partners to help advance a cleaner energy future for the region. It includes closing a half-century-old, coal-fired power plant in Asheville in 2019. The plant will be replaced with a cleaner natural gas-fired plant and distributed energy resources like solar power and battery storage.
More Storage Projects
In addition to battery storage projects planned or operating in Florida, Indiana, Ohio and Texas, Duke Energy is also operating and pursuing other projects in the Carolinas.
In the city of Asheville, a 9-MW lithium-ion battery system will be placed at a Duke Energy substation site in the Rock Hill community – near Sweeten Creek Road. The battery will primarily be used to help the electric system operate more efficiently and reliability for customers.
In Haywood County, Duke Energy has a zinc-air battery installation that was recently highlighted nationally. The 95-kWh zinc-air battery and 10-kW solar installation serving a communications tower on Mount Sterling in the Smoky Mountains National Park has been operating for more than a year.
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