On April 28, 2020, Duke Energy released two new documents, a 2019 Sustainability Report and a 2020 Climate Report, and announced plans to add 8,000 MW of wind, solar and biomass by 2025, which would double its total renewable energy.[1] [2] [3] The announcement is a part of Duke’s larger plan to achieve 50% lower CO2 emissions by 2030 and net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. Currently, Duke's regulated electric utility generation is 31% natural gas, 31% nuclear, 24% coal and 5% renewables. By 2030, Duke predicts its mix will be 42% natural gas, 30% nuclear, 11% coal, and 14% renewables. Duke says by 2050 renewables will make up the largest share at 36% while natural gas will drop to 6%.

Fossil fuels will still account for more than half of its generation, but the utility says it remains on track to achieve its 2030 goal. Although it has received criticism for relying on natural gas when it could use energy storage, Duke has asserted that adding new natural gas is necessary. According to Duke’s climate report, a “no new gas” scenario would create installation and operational challenges because current energy storage technology would not be able to handle the capacity and energy gap created by coal retirement. Duke also noted that the incremental costs of achieving net zero emissions under a no new gas scenario "would increase by three to four times" compared to adding gas resources.

[1] https://news.duke-energy.com/releases/new-duke-energy-reports-show-progress-toward-ambitious-climate-and-sustainability-goals?_ga=2.46264229.348135488.1588192929-1661836963.1588192929

[2] https://www.duke-energy.com/_/media/PDFs/our-company/Climate-Report-2020.pdf

[3] https://sustainabilityreport.duke-energy.com/