Duke Energy
At Duke Energy, we are helping North Carolina seize the opportunities heading its way – while keeping energy reliable and affordable throughout the transition to cleaner energy.
Our Economic Development team can help connect you to powerful locations across 83 counties in the state. We provide electrical expertise and a comprehensive energy value proposition for every project. Here are some highlights of our services and commitment:
- The Site Readiness Program increases the competitiveness of industrial land available for projects.
- Economic Development Incentives provide a competitive discount on demand charges for qualifying new loads.
- The Green Source Advantage/ GSA Choice program helps you reach your sustainability goals. It opens an opportunity to work with Duke Energy and a developer to bring a new renewable resource online locally.
- The Carolinas Resource Plan protects grid reliability and affordability in a growing region. The most significant additions to the plan include an increase in hydrogen-capable natural gas plants, more solar and storage, and the potential of offshore wind off the coast of North Carolina, pending future evaluation by state regulators. This is all part of maintaining our diverse “all of the above” approach to protect reliability and affordability for customers.
For more information, please contact NCEconomicDevelopmentTeam@duke-energy.com.
ElectriCities
Public power communities have access to economic development grants and resources aimed at helping their city leverage growth opportunities. By maintaining local control over the city’s electric system, local officials are more agile when negotiating with prospective businesses. This allows for time-sensitive negotiations to be undertaken swiftly and with high levels of discretion.
At ElectriCities, we look for opportunities to partner with our 70+ member cities to provide customized assistance within all aspects of economic development. ElectriCities partners with public power communities to support projects with rate development and small scale grants, leveraging the uniqueness of each community to channel economic growth.
For more information about ElectriCities and economic development support, please contact Carl Rees at (919) 760-6315 or crees@electricities.org. And for more information about the public power, visit their website.
NC Electric Cooperatives
USDA Rural Economic Development Loan (up to $1 million | 0% | 10-year term): This program provides funding for rural projects through local utility organizations (Electric Cooperatives). USDA provides zero-interest loans to Electric Cooperatives which they, in turn, pass through to local governments or businesses (ultimate recipients) for projects that will create and retain employment in rural areas. The local recipient repays the lending utility directly with the following terms: 1) the interest rate is 0 percent, 2) up to 80 percent of project costs; 20 percent must be provided by the ultimate recipient or the local utility, and 3) repayment may be deferred up to two years of the ten-year loan term.
Member Cooperative Loan (up to $2 million | 0% | 10-year term): Participating Electric Cooperative may provide loans to local governments or businesses to construct buildings and provide infrastructure, equipment and related facilities for the attraction of business engaged in the manufacture, value-enhancement, or distribution of products and services. Cooperatives may provide the loan at zero percent interest over a ten-year period with the option to defer for two years.
Development Matching Grant: Participating Electric Cooperatives direct these grants toward economic development and business enhancement initiatives such as feasibility studies, environmental assessments, and land use plans, and similar documented evaluations to improve the economic development capabilities of a specific site or facility. It can also be utilized for water and sewer service to a site, site clearance and grading expenses, access roadway to a construction site, and related physical improvements to the land used for new or expanded business operations. These are targeted grants, (typically less than $10,000) that are evaluated case-by-case, with maximum award of up to $30,000.
Building and Process Efficiency Consulting: Participating Electric Cooperatives can provide a grant towards consulting services for new projects locating in the cooperative’s territory. Advanced Energy, with nationally recognized building science and industrial processing expertise, will provide the cooperative and new member customer (member and/or member’s engineering, building, or architectural consultants) access to Advanced Energy’s staff and resources to maximize energy and process efficiency of the new building. Focus will be on technologies and processes that provide a reduction in operating costs over time.
Business Development Offerings: The Electric Cooperative will work with the new member-consumer to evaluate their resiliency and sustainability needs and can provide a range of solutions. For example, one option for resiliency is to provide the new member-consumer with a revenue stream for their onsite generator to help reduce the upfront, maintenance, and fuel costs. Another option is for the cooperative to provide the onsite generator and to maintain the generator in exchange for a monthly fee. If the new member-consumer also has sustainability requirements, the cooperative will do an assessment of the viability of a solar and/or energy storage project onsite and can provide different resource/payment plans to meet this need.
For more information, contact: Ryan Nance at econdev@NCEMCS.com.
The Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina does not award or administer these incentives or programs. These programs are administered by Duke Energy, Electricities, and NC Electric Cooperatives.
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