Duke Energy, Amazon, Google, Microsoft, and Nucor have recently announced agreements to explore innovative approaches to support carbon-free energy generation and meet the growing energy needs of large businesses in North Carolina and South Carolina. This announcement, made at the White House Summit on Domestic Nuclear Deployment, involves the development of new rate structures, known as Accelerating Clean Energy (ACE) tariffs, designed to lower the long-term costs of investing in clean energy technologies, including new nuclear and long-duration storage.
The ACE tariffs will allow large customers, such as Amazon, Google, Microsoft, and Nucor, to directly support carbon-free energy generation investments through financing structures and contributions. These efforts aim to lower the costs of emerging technologies by addressing project risks. The tariffs will facilitate beneficial on-site generation at customer facilities, participation in load flexibility programs, and investments in clean energy assets.
A key component of the ACE framework is the Clean Transition Tariff (CTT), which will enable Duke Energy to provide individualized portfolios of new carbon-free energy to commercial and industrial customers. The CTT will match clean-energy generation with customer load to accelerate overall grid decarbonization. This voluntary program is designed for larger customers seeking to advance their clean energy goals and includes protections for non-participating customers.
The proposed ACE tariffs represent a new, voluntary pricing structure for Duke Energy's large commercial and industrial customers. While Duke Energy's five-year capital plan will continue as planned, these new tariffs will be subject to regulatory approvals in North Carolina and South Carolina.
Moving forward, Duke Energy plans to work with other new and existing customers with similar energy needs and sustainability goals. The ACE tariffs are expected to contribute significantly to the acceleration of clean energy investments and the transition to a more sustainable energy grid.
