Duke Energy has asked North Carolina regulators for permission to withdraw a proposed renewable energy certificate program after it drew criticism from clean energy advocates.
The program, called Clean Energy Impact, would have allowed customers to purchase renewable energy certificates generated whenever the utility produced one megawatt-hour of power from a carbon-neutral source. But the certificates would not have funded any new clean energy projects, a key concern for environmental groups.
Duke already offers a similar option through its Go Renewable program, which provides third-party certified credits that support additional clean energy generation beyond what regulators require the utility to build.
In its filing, Duke said it may pursue an expansion of the Go Renewable program rather than launching a new certificate offering.
