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Participation in Duke Energy's Green Source Advantage Program To Meet Renewable Energy Goals (20min)
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Date of BOCC Meeting: January 4, 2021
Request for Board Action:
Agenda Text
The Board is hereby requested to receive a briefing on Duke Energy's Green Source Advantage program and provide direction to staff on participation in the program.
The BOCC adopted a resolution in 2018 calling for a plan to transition County operations to 80% clean, renewable energy by 2030 and 100% clean, renewable energy by 2050 with the purposes of building a more resilient community, promoting job creation and sustainable economic growth, and protecting our local community and the Earth for current and future generations. Staff are currently working with a consultant to create a plan to reach this ambitious goal.
Initial analysis shows that it is not feasible to meet the County's electricity needs exclusively through solar panels on county facilities and that a larger, commercial scale system will be needed. In addition, the cost of a kWh of solar electricity from a commercial scale system is less than half of that from rooftop solar. The most cost-effective option right now is Duke Energy's Green Source Advantage (GSA) program. The GSA program allows participants to partner with a solar developer to build a project, agreeing to pay a set amount to offset their electricity purchases for a set term (usually 15-20 years). Duke Energy pays the customer back a credit on their bills that covers part of the cost of the payment to the developer. The program offers these customers the flexibility of selecting and negotiating all price terms directly with a solar developer of their choice, including the retention of Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) generated by a solar facility owned by the developer. The customer does not pay any upfront capital costs, on-going maintenance, or decommissioning costs of the facility. After paying a small administrative fee to...
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