Duke Energy’s 9 MW Asheville Battery Installation in Buncombe County

From an Article by Tim Sylvia, PV Magazine, October 26, 2021

A new battery, which uses an electrolyte to convert chemical energy into electricity for storage and deployment, will begin testing in 2022 at Duke Energy’s Emerging Technology and Innovation Center in Mount Holly, North Carolina.

Honeywell, a prominent technology company based in Charlotte, North Carolina, announced that it has developed a new flow battery technology intended for pairing with wind and solar resources. The company has partnered with Duke Energy to field test the product.

Honeywell’s battery uses a safe, non-flammable electrolyte that converts chemical energy to electricity to store energy for later use. The solution can store and discharge electricity for up to 12 hours, according to Honeywell. If proven, the battery would provide the system with another distinct advantage over traditional lithium-ion batteries, which currently can discharge up to four hours.

The battery is also comprised of entirely recyclable components. It is touted by Honeywell as being immune to degradation over long periods of use, a paramount issue for all battery storage chemistries and technologies.

According to Honeywell, the flow battery can be combined with the company’s Experion PKS business and asset management, system, and its enterprise performance management solution, Honeywell Forge, for remote monitoring.

In 2022 Honeywell plans to deliver a 400 kWh unit to Duke Energy’s Emerging Technology and Innovation Center in Mount Holly, North Carolina, to determine if the technology is viable for use at scale. Duke will need to make commitments to deploying storage at scale if it hopes to achieve its goals of a 50% reduction of carbon emissions versus 2005 levels by 2030 and net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.

According to a Duke representative, the utility plans to install almost 400 MW of battery storage capacity in its service territory over the next five years, though it is unclear if this refers to it’s North Carolina Service area, or total southeast service area including South Carolina and Florida. The representative also added that Duke has a keen interest in breakthrough technologies, like this flow battery.

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PV Magazine is a monthly trade publication launched for the international photovoltaics (PV) community in the summer of 2008. The current print run, based on qualified circulation, is 35,000. The international website, www.pv-magazine.com launched in 2010. (Sep 6, 2021)

Regulators neglect the cost of the pipeline impacts

By John Downey, Charlotte Business Journal, February 20, 2018

Duke Energy Corp. CEO Lynn Good says the 600-mile Atlantic Coast Pipeline could now cost as much as $6.5 billion to complete — about 30% more than estimated when the project was first proposed just three-and-a-half years ago.

Good disclosed the latest estimate during Charlotte-based power company’s earnings call.

“Due to delays and more stringent conditions in the permitting process, ACP now estimates total project cost between $6 billion and $6.5 billion,” Good told analysts on the conference call.

That would put Duke’s share of the price at between $2.7 billion and $3.1 billion.

The joint project of Dominion Energy Inc., Duke and The Southern Co. was announced in September 2014. At that time, the partners (including Piedmont Natural Gas, which is now part of Duke) said it would cost about $4.5 billion to $5 billion to build.

The price has risen several times since then as the regulators demanded changes to the route and other specifications to meet environmental, cultural and safety objections.

Delays in construction have also added to the cost. The partners originally had hoped to start construction in 2016 and have the project in service by late this year. That has, over time, slipped to construction work starting by summer (there is pre-construction tree clearing already underway) and completion by late next year.

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Report Released on Economic Impact of Atlantic Coast Pipeline – NBC29 WVIR Charlottesville, VA on March 1, 2016