Duke Energy may embrace rooftop solar

Duke may add rooftop solar to its portfolio of arrays

Duke Energy, the largest US utility, is looking at its options for incorporating rooftop solar into its strategy, as the rapid expansion of PV threatens to undermine its business model in the future.

Acknowledging that power demand in the US faces “anemic” growth prospects, chief executive Jim Rogers says that Duke – which is already investing in PV arrays – is also weighing its options with regard to residential PV.

“It is obviously a potential threat over the long term and an opportunity in the short term,” Rogers told Bloomberg.

“If the cost of solar panels keeps coming down, installation costs come down and if they combine solar with battery technology and a power-management system, then we have someone just using us for backup.”

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