Climate Change

During a public hearing for Duke Energy’s carbon and resource plan earlier this week, Duke Energy customers brought their concerns over energy-intensive data centers and expressed their frustration after the utility asked them to conserve energy.

The Carolinas set a new record during last week’s winter weather: the highest-ever energy demand.

The General Assembly’s Energy Policy Commission met for the first time in nearly two years to review lessons learned and discuss North Carolina’s path forward on nuclear energy.

The U.S. Department of Transportation froze funds for the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure. A federal court deemed that action “capricious and unnecessary” after the program had already restarted.

Duke Energy and state regulators are deciding how to address rising energy demand in the Carolinas — demand driven largely by incoming data centers. One Charlotte nonprofit is educating residents on how to get involved.

This weekend put a strain on energy grids across the East Coast, downing power lines and testing power plants. The N.C. Department of Environmental Quality launched an energy rebate program in Mecklenburg and Wake counties that helps alleviate stress on the grid while saving people money on their monthly utility bills.

Governor Stein has teamed up with federal officials to put pressure on data centers to pay for their own power, as concern mounts over who will bear the costs of fueling the AI boom.

Last year, three Democrats joined Republicans to override Gov. Stein’s veto of a controversial energy bill. Those Democrats face primary challenges.

As North Carolina continues decarbonizing its energy supply, giant batteries are one tool for keeping the lights on when the sun isn’t shining and the wind stops blowing. Duke Energy has brought a 50-megawatt battery online at the site of the former Allen coal plant in Gaston County.

This week’s unseasonably warm weather is a reminder that free energy abounds in the form of the sun’s rays. A new program aims to give Charlotte’s low-income residents access to that energy, free of cost.