NORTH CAROLINA — Call it schadenfreude for solar developers. Duke Energy Progress has delayed its proposed solar-storage microgrid in Hot Springs because getting an interconnection agreement — from itself — is taking so long.
The sorry state of the interconnection queue in North Carolina has been a constant complaint for independent solar developers. Many have projects waiting years for an agreement from Duke Energy Corp. utilities to connect to the power grid.
“I applaud Duke for not jumping the line for their own project,” says Chris Carmody of the N.C. Clean Energy Business Association, though by law, the company must go through the same process that all developers do in connecting to the distribution grid. “But it’s completely illustrative of how the interconnection process stifles new projects and hurts rate payers.”
Duke Progress and Duke Energy Carolinas have repeatedly said the delays caused by multiplying tests and screenings to get an interconnection agreement are necessary to assure the stability and safety of the grid. This time, though, Duke was caught in a delay for a project that the commission — its principal regulator — is paying close attention to.
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