News | January 28, 2025

Innovative pilot helps North Carolinians save thousands on clean energy 

The PowerPair program provides a window into the exciting future of “virtual power plants”
The PowerPair pilot program in North Carolina provides rebates of up to $9,000 for solar and battery systems when installed together. (Rebecca Nelson)

On a frosty December night, when the neighborhood’s power unexpectedly cut out, one Chapel Hill family was staying warm.  

“A tree fell on a power line,” explained David William. “It was only an hour, but it was brutally cold.”  

Since last summer, solar panels have lined William’s roof. On the side of his home is a battery that charges throughout the day, so when the sun isn’t shining, his family still has power.  

“You kind of forget about it – I mean, almost immediately,” he said of the new installation. “But then, last night, the [neighborhood’s] power flicked off. And we’re just sitting there, all the lights on, hanging out.”  

William is one of thousands of North Carolinians who benefitted this year from Duke Energy’s pilot program PowerPair, which provides rebates of up to $9,000 for solar and battery systems when installed together. 

As Southerners look to save on their energy bills, increase their electricity’s reliability, and keep their communities safe from the impacts of climate change, PowerPair is an example of one innovative way our utilities can help.   

How PowerPair works 

Stemming from a settlement between Duke Energy and clean energy advocates represented by SELC, along with the North Carolina Sustainable Energy Association, the solar trade association, and local installers, PowerPair launched last May as the first residential solar and battery rebate program in the South. 

With the ability to provide energy even when the grid is down, and free from the price swings of climate-polluting fossil fuels like methane gas, solar and battery storage is a proven combination for reliable, low-cost electricity.  

While I loved the idea of it, it didn’t financially pan out for us without the PowerPair rebate.

David William, PowerPair participant

Towns like Hot Springs, North Carolina, have a solar and battery-run microgrid that can supply the entire community with energy if the main power line goes down. And in the aftermath of disasters like Hurricane Helene, the clean energy duo has been essential in providing people quick access to energy.  

Still, for homeowners who want the benefits of their own rooftop panels and battery, the upfront price of installing the system can pose a barrier. 

For William, an urban planner who’d long been interested in trying solar power, that’s where PowerPair came in. “While I loved the idea of it,” he said, “it didn’t financially pan out for us without the PowerPair rebate.” 

Including equipment, labor, and design costs, the total price tag for the project was about $31,600. In addition to the $9,000 rebate, federal incentives covered 30 percent of that total. The PowerPair program also offers participating customers monthly bill credits if they allow Duke to tap into their battery during peak demands on our grid, like hot summer days and freezing nights.  

With no more energy bills and about $55 a month coming in from Duke in exchange for managing his battery, William expects to recoup his portion of the cost in about five years.  

A cleaner kind of ‘power plant’

David Neal, a senior attorney with SELC, explained that it’s not only participating homeowners who benefit from the program and opportunities like it. 

“As a monopoly utility, Duke passes its costs onto its customers, including its costs to build expensive new fossil-fueled power plants, and the methane gas needed to run them,” Neal said. “When the company taps into home batteries during expensive peak demands, we lessen our reliance on fossil fuels, increase resilience, and lower costs for everyone.”  

Neal noted that PowerPair is the first step toward a vision of what “virtual power plants” could look like in our communities.  

My hope is that virtual power plants come to be seen as a regular part of supplying our energy needs.

David Neal, Senior Attorney

Unlike a pricey and polluting traditional power plant, virtual power plants connect home energy devices like batteries, smart thermostats, and electric vehicle chargers into a coordinated network. Across an entire region – or in local parts of the grid that may have otherwise needed costlier upgrades – a utility can manage these devices together as a vast resource that helps meet our energy needs in a cleaner, more affordable way. 

“My hope is that virtual power plants come to be seen as a regular part of supplying our energy needs,” said Neal. “They’re less costly than fossil fuel infrastructure and there are fewer barriers to scaling them up – no need for large transmission lines, no land needed, no long lead times like there are for big power plants. With PowerPair, it’s exciting to see a window into that future.” 

Expanding the South’s virtual power plants 

As a pilot program, PowerPair’s participation is limited. Since its launch last May, about half of the program’s capacity in eastern North Carolina and about a third in the western part of the state is already gone.  

“There’s enormous demand in our state for options like PowerPair,” said Neal. “Its popularity should send a strong signal to Duke and the utilities commission to expand the program going forward.”  

Two people are standing on a roof to install solar panels.
The PowerPair pilot proves polluting monopoly utilities like Duke can do better. (Jackson Smith)

Duke needs to look toward clean, affordable solutions like the program as it tackles reducing carbon pollution, Neal said – not more fossil fuel projects. The North Carolina Utilities Commission recently approved a plan that gives Duke the green light to build new methane gas plants and underinvest in clean energy sources like solar, battery storage, and wind. The plan will delay a critical carbon pollution reduction deadline under state law by five to eight years.  

“Forward-looking programs like PowerPair show that Duke and other monopoly utilities can and must do better when it comes to planning for our energy needs while honoring the desire of customers for reliability and protection from the consequences of climate change,” Neal said. 

Hopefully, he added, similar opportunities will start to emerge across the South.  

In Virginia, utility Dominion Energy recently received a Department of Energy grant for the infrastructure needed to spur the growth of virtual power plants. The legislature is currently considering a bill that would create a virtual power plant pilot program in the state – and eventually help establish a permanent program – that could include incentives for customers to install resources like battery storage and enroll those with existing home energy devices to join in.  

These solutions, said Neal, can help ensure that the future of clean, affordable energy in the South looks bright. As we prepare for more wintry weather and future summer storms, PowerPair participants’ homes like William’s are sure to stay warm and bright, too. 

Solar saves the day when fossil fuels fail.