Duke Energy’s plans for more gas gain momentum with…

But Duke’s bubble is hard to burst. For one thing, the company’s predictions that there will be massive demand for new data centers in the future are based in part on confidential business relationships that are difficult to refute from the outside.

Unlike two years ago, when Duke presented its first carbon reduction plan, no group presented an independent model showing how Duke could meet demand without building new gas-fired power plants.

“We can talk about costs or market conditions,” Carmody said. But, he said, ​“we didn’t do any modeling.”

Public Staff has calculated its own numbers and urges more caution with new gas-fired power plants than Duke suggests, but the agency firmly believes at least some are needed.

The Biden administration’s new rules have not yet sounded the death knell for gas that some had expected. Duke is suing to overturn one of those rules, but insists that building new plants that run at half capacity is the most economical way to comply with the rules.

And while Duke is offering more gas, the organization is also undeniably advocating for more solar energy.

Clean energy supporters continue to oppose the annual limits on solar power development that the utility says are necessary. However, the limits are less than 1,000 Megawatts per year in 2022 above 1,300 Megawatt. And the agreement would lead to another 240 Megawatts of solar energy than Duke had initially proposed.

“It’s an iterative improvement,” Carmody said.

In addition, the agreement opens a discussion with Duke about the numerous 5-megawatt solar projects across the state whose original contracts are about to expire. A proposal for how to retrofit them could be presented in April of next year.

““This is a really important issue for our members,” Carmody said. ​“These are projects that could be repowered. They could be upgraded with storage. They could have much more efficient solar technology than has been used so far. 15 or 20 years ago.”

Still, Carmody said his group tried to word the deal in a way that would leave room for clean energy advocates to continue pushing for less gas and faster emissions cuts – and that is certainly their plan.

““Three power plants that are very expensive to build and then only operate for a few years is just a ridiculous proposal,” said Maggie Shober, research director at the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, despite the agreement.

“We remain confident that the (Commission) can do much in this Carbon Plan process and in its final order to move us forward on the path to clean energy.”

Nick Jimenez, senior attorney at the Southern Environmental Law Center, acknowledges that the settlement represents some burden for his clients.

“In the past, the Commission has approved many settlements,” he said. ​“It’s good when the parties come to an agreement, especially when Duke and public personnel are involved.”