In November 2025, Duke Energy placed a 50-megawatt, four-hour battery energy storage system (BESS) into service at its former Allen coal plant on Lake Wylie, North Carolina. The project, completed for approximately $100 million—under budget and ahead of schedule—underwent final testing in January 2026. This initial installation highlights Duke Energy’s strategy of repurposing retired fossil-fuel assets to support grid reliability during peak winter demand periods before solar generation ramps up.

Building on the success of the first BESS, Duke Energy will break ground in May 2026 on its largest battery project to date: a 167-MW, four-hour system adjacent to the initial installation. Both projects qualify for federal investment tax credits, which will offset 40% of capital costs—including an additional 10% bonus for siting in an energy community—thereby reducing customer-funded capital by roughly $67 million across the two facilities. Construction of a 115-MW, four-hour BESS at the retired Riverbend site is slated to begin in late 2026, with commercial operation expected by year-end 2027.

Duke Energy’s 2025 Carolinas Resource Plan, currently under regulatory review, calls for adding 6,550 MW of battery storage by 2035—enough to power more than five million homes during peak demand events. This represents a ten-fold increase in storage capacity versus current levels and underscores a shift toward flexible, non-emitting grid assets. For investors, the plan signals sustained capital expenditures focused on renewables and storage, potential enhancements to regulated rate base returns, and mitigation of fuel-price volatility risks historically tied to natural gas and coal generation.