NC Utilities Commission Approves New Green Source Advantage Choice Large Customer Program 

Duke Energy recently revamped its Green Source Advantage program, a renewable energy tariff for large business customers.  

Green Source Advantage was originally authorized under House Bill 589, passed in 2017, as a program to allow large energy customers to directly procure clean energy with Duke Energy facilitating the transaction. The program received the green light from the NC Utilities Commission with capacity limits for certain commercial customer classes. The available capacity under certain classes was largely consumed throughout the program’s original tenure. Participating customers utilized this program to meet their clean energy goals while adding additional renewable assets to the grid. 

The new program is called Green Source Advantage Choice, and there are three options for businesses looking to participate. House Bill 951, passed in 2021, required Duke Energy to update this large customer program. 

To qualify for any of these options, business customers must have an annual peak demand of 1 MW or an aggregated maximum annual peak demand at multiple locations of 5 MW, excluding outdoor lighting schedules.  

The new program should accelerate the interconnection of some proposed renewable projects, so energy suppliers may also be interested in looking into the program.  

While one option in the GSA Choice program allows large business customers to pay to expedite solar projects, none of the options will generate additional capacity beyond what Duke Energy is required to bring online as part of the carbon emissions reduction mandates in House Bill 951. Any accelerated generation will count toward those goals, not exceed them. 

The program has three options, all with megawatt caps for participants. There’s a $2,000 application fee and a $375 monthly administrative fee per customer account. Additionally, there are other charges based on the option selected and the amount of energy supplied. 

The options: 

1. Companies can buy Clean Energy Environmental Attributes (CEEAs) through Duke Energy tied to utility-scale solar projects the company is developing. In the future, this may also include onshore or offshore wind projects. 
2. Large customers can propose their own developer for a renewable energy project and negotiate a three-way contract including Duke Energy. Duke Energy would agree to accept the electricity produced by this developer, and the customer can claim credit for that generation, including CEEAs. This includes battery storage, a new option in the retooled program. This option is capped at 250 megawatts of total capacity every two years, and contracts can be as long as 25 years.
3. The Resource Acceleration Option (RAO). This is the biggest change in the program, and the details are laid out in Exhibit B of this stipulation. Under this option, large customers can select solar projects that Duke Energy did not select in previous procurement rounds and contract with those developers. Generally, to be eligible, a project’s non-winning bid must have been judged eligible and conforming in the most recent Request for Proposals (RFP) process, and it must have made it to Stage 2 of that RFP. Like the other options, this doesn’t provide “additionality” — it won’t produce more solar energy than already planned, but it will accelerate the chosen projects. This option is capped at 300 megawatts of total capacity every two years, in addition to the 250 megawatt cap for Option 2. 

Option 3 projects can speed up the construction of selected solar farms by as many as two years, matching the biennial cycle of Duke Energy’s Carbon Plan. 

CEEAs represent both the Renewable Energy Credit associated with the generation of energy from renewable resources, as well as “environmental attributes” that account for carbon emissions reductions resulting from the addition of generation from renewable resources.  

To start the application process, large customers that qualify may email greensourceadvantage@duke-energy.com. The application process can take as long as two months. Duke Energy has a list of potential energy suppliers linked on its Frequently Asked Questions page, under the question “I’m new to renewable energy and don’t already have a renewable supplier. Where do I start?” 

For more information, see Duke Energy’s FAQ page or the NC Utilities Commission stipulation approving the program.  

For additional info, check out this story by Energy News Network.