Duke Energy rolls out new pilot program with incentives for home solar

Duke Energy has enrolled more than 1,300 customers in North Carolina in a new pilot program that is designed to make a home solar plus battery system more affordable.

The PowerPair pilot initiative is a one-time incentive-based program that offers up to $9,000 in incentives for residential customers who install a new solar plus battery system. The total incentive is based on the approved capacity of the solar array and battery installed.

The PowerPair program, approved by the North Carolina Utilities Commission (NCUC) in January and launched in May, was developed in collaboration with various stakeholder groups at the direction of the NCUC.

“North Carolina already ranks fourth in the nation for overall solar power with approximately 45,000 Duke Energy customers generating about 350 megawatts through solar panels,” Meghan Dewey, vice president of products and services for Duke Energy, said. “PowerPair is a valuable solution for our customers ready to invest in solar plus storage for their homes. It is one of several ways we’re helping our customers save energy and money, while continuing to explore new ways to help manage low carbon grids of the future.”

Participants in the pilot may choose to enroll in PowerPair on a residential solar choice rider (RSC) or through a net metering bridge rider (NMB) to receive the incentive of up to $9,000.

“Duke Energy is diving headfirst into our next iteration of solar rebate programs to match the increased need to pair solar and battery,” Dewey said. “We’re already seeing that PowerPair is proving to be quite popular with customers, and our team is hard at work to develop what comes next for innovative solar and battery storage offerings.”

The PowerPair pilot is still taking applications.

Duke Energy is also looking at ways to enhance the pilot for other customers who may not be able to purchase a new solar and battery system upfront. It will be collaborating with stakeholders on several options that could focus specifically on income-qualified customers, customers dependent on medical devices, or a comparable program for non-residential customers or other targeted participants.

“It was important to first commit to a successful initial PowerPair launch and ensure that the pilot got off the ground smoothly, and we accomplished that,” Dewey said. “We are excited to now turn our attention to developing additional offerings that fit a broader scope of our customers’ varying needs and lifestyles.”

Duke Energy serves 8.4 million customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky through its electric utilities and 1.7 million customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Ohio and Kentucky through its natural gas utilities.

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