Duke may drop rooftop solar plan

[OKIsItJustMe]

http://charlotte.bizjournals.com/charlotte/stories/2009/01/26/daily53.html

Thursday, January 29, 2009, 6:05pm EST | Modified: Thursday, January 29, 2009, 7:11pm

Duke may drop rooftop solar plan

Charlotte Business Journal - by John Downey Senior Staff Writer

Duke Energy Carolinas says it cannot proceed with its proposed $50 million rooftop solar program unless N.C. regulators remove restrictions on how the utility will recover the initiative's costs from customers.

The company says the restrictions could cause Duke to violate federal rules governing up to $250 million in energy-investment tax credits. Violating the federal regulations would force Duke to forfeit those federal tax credits, including $125 million targeted for Duke’s 825-megawatt Cliffside coal plant.

“That’s not a risk we can take,” says Keith Trent, Duke’s chief strategy and regulatory officer. Without a change in the state requirements, “we are simply not going to be able to go forward with the program.”

And Duke says if it cannot proceed with the rooftop program, it won’t be able to meet new state requirements for solar energy production in 2010.

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[Confusious]

1. Ja, the energy corps are always whining

in AZ to the corp commission about how they have to raise rates, even they are making money hand over fist. "I can't afford my next porche" poor babies. They just wanna ream the customer for all they can.

Remove the restrictions and you'll be getting it up the butt in no time. Make them put the cells in, and give them a 20 year recovery plan.