On Wednesday, May 24, 2023, ULI Charlotte hosted a Coffee Talk meeting at Capitol Towers highlighting energy efficiency and sustainability in commercial and residential development, including incentives and programs available to builders and developers. Ashley Coleman, Emerging Technology Development Manager with Duke Energy, led the presentation.

Coleman shared that Duke Energy provides various programs for commercial customers that provide assessments, consultation, performance incentives, turnkey installation, and flexible financing options. On the residential side, Duke Energy provides deep discounts on energy-saving bulbs, a home improvement rebate program, a multifamily program that provides and installs energy-efficiency lighting and water measures in all units, free in-home energy assessments, free energy kits, and several programs for income-qualified customers.

For developers, Coleman emphasized that connecting with Duke Energy in the very early planning stages of development will ensure that the infrastructure is in place to support the energy-efficient initiatives.

As part of a grant, ULI Charlotte is working with developer Crescent Communities and Duke Energy on the River District as a pilot project to create a net zero road map for development and construction.

Zero Net Energy/Decarbonized Buildings of the Future involve a variety of factors, including:

• HVAC/climate control (programmable thermostat)
• Building envelope
• Lighting
• Interior layout
• Strategic siting
• Appliances
• Residential generation
• Battery storage
• Electric vehicle charging

The pilot River District community will include 48 single-family homes on an energy management platform with rooftop solar, battery storage, smart thermostats, outlet-ready level 2 EV charging, smart appliances, and more. The Trailhead community center building also will provide solar plus storage, an energy management system that will talk to all connected devices, solar water panels for the community garden, smart electric breaker panels and a kiosk display using Duke’s Carbon Tool Calculator to aggregate community data.

There are limited examples of net zero developments in North Carolina, where energy is relatively inexpensive, so we need to look at other areas of the country, such as California, which is an early adopter with much more progressive sustainability goals. The Inflation Reduction Act signed in 2022 included $370 billion in investment to lower energy costs for families and small businesses and accelerated private investment in clean energy solutions. We should work with policymakers to establish goals for North Carolina with a target year to achieve those goals.

Notes provided by Angela Vogel Daley, VP of Strategy & Operations at Yellow Duck Marketing.