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Duke Energy to power five military bases with clean energy

Duke Energy to power five military bases with clean energy
A fighter jet takes off at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base (Credit: Seymour Johnson Air Force Base / U.S. Air Force)

The Department of Defense (DoD) announced a “first-of-its-kind” partnership with Duke Energy to power five military installations in North and South Carolina with clean energy.

The contract, valued at $248 million, will provide an estimated 135 MW and 4.8 million MWh of electricity over a 15-year delivery period from two newly constructed off-site solar facilities in South Carolina, of which DoD will be the exclusive purchaser of output. The sites are expected to be operational by September 2026.

The DoD signed on to Duke Energy’s Green Source Advantage (GSA) program to provide renewable energy on behalf of the five largest DOD major military installations across North Carolina and South Carolina, including U.S. Army Fort Liberty, Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, and Seymour Johnson Air Force Base in North Carolina, and Shaw Air Force Base in South Carolina.

“This is a significant step forward,” said Brendan Owens, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Energy, Installations, and Environment and DoD’s Chief Sustainability Officer. “By supporting the construction of new clean, renewable energy, we are enhancing our resilience in support of the warfighter and DoD’s mission. We are also supporting President Biden’s ambitious energy, jobs, and American manufacturing goals.  DoD is playing our part to transform the power grid towards a strategically important resilient, clean energy future.”

Duke Energy’s GSA program, which supports renewable energy development, provides large nonresidential customers the opportunity to offset their power purchases by securing renewable energy from projects connected to the Duke Energy grid. The customer receives the renewable energy certificates (RECs) generated by the projects to satisfy sustainability and/or renewable, carbon-free energy goals. Customers are credited for the solar power the facility generates against their energy purchased from the Duke Energy grid.

Additional participants in Duke Energy’s GSA program include the City of Charlotte, the City of Durham, Bank of America, Durham County, Duke University, and Durham Public Schools.

Executive Order 14057 has established targets for federal agencies to reach 100% carbon-free electricity by 2030, with 50% matching on a 24/7 basis. Participating in the Duke Energy GSA program is one of the DOD’s first major carbon-free energy initiatives.

With more than 300,000 buildings and 600,000 vehicles, the U.S. Government is the nation’s largest energy consumer. 

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