Duke Energy has increased its renewable energy growth goal by 33 percent, from its previous goal of 6,000 MW established in 2013, to 8,000 megawatts of wind, solar and biomass capacity by 2020. The goal has been published in the 10th edition of the company’s Sustainability Report issued on April 28th.
As of the end of 2015, the company owned or purchased nearly 4,400 megawatts of wind, solar and biomass: 49 percent wind, 39 percent solar and 12 percent biomass. Overall, Duke Energy operates more than 52,000 megawatts of generating capacity in the United States.
“Duke Energy is accelerating the pace of our renewable energy programme allowing us to increase our goal for wind, solar and biomass on our system,” said Cari Boyce, vice president, Policy, Sustainability and Stakeholder Strategy. “Renewable energy will continue to be a growing part of our generation mix in the future.”
The report also details the company’s progress on other sustainability goals and programmes, including carbon emissions 28 percent below the level they were at 10 years ago and about 6 percent less than 2014. The amount of carbon dioxide the company releases per kilowatt-hour of electricity generated is 23 percent lower than it was 10 years ago.
Duke Energy has also provided more than 70 million deeply discounted energy-efficient lighting products to its customers since 2009 and helped communities attract more than 37,000 jobs and more than $10 billion in capital investment.
The company is currently one of the largest electric power holding companies in the US, its regulated utility operations serving approximately 7.4 million electric customers across six states in the Southeast and Midwest, representing a population of approximately 24 million people. Its Commercial Portfolio and International business segments own and operate diverse power generation assets in North America and Latin America, including a growing portfolio of renewable energy assets in the United States.
For additional information:
