Duke Energy’s largest battery energy storage facility is now operational in Knightdale. At its peak, the facility can provide 100 MW of power for up to two hours.
"This is our first 100 megawatt site as a company. That's a reflection of the growing need on the system," said Gray Thompson, business development manager for Duke Energy. "We do have plans for more sites like this, and some even larger than this in the future."
The utility plans to have more than 5 GW of battery energy storage by the beginning of 2034. Under state law, Duke Energy must reach carbon neutrality by 2050.
New facilities like this are critical to reach that goal, said spokesperson Ben Williamson. He adds this storage center will help increase reliability for customers by sending energy onto the grid during times of peak demand.
"Think about hot summer afternoons, (from) 4-7 pm. These things have been charged up and can be dispatched during that peak period," said Williamson.
Williamson said this facility, which opened at the end of last year, helped Duke Energy meet demand in late January and early February during winter storms that brought ice and snow to North Carolina.
Inside these large white containers are hundreds of batteries that can be charged using different forms of energy, including solar.
"If we've got low demand, we can take that excess energy (from solar and) charge these batteries," said Williamson. "So that energy that was produced by solar that may have not been used, we can now move that to where it's needed most."
