Advocates for solar energy are asking the North Carolina Utilities Commission to overturn an unusual order by its chairman directing Duke Energy to stop its 2026 solar procurement process.

In the April 23 deferral order, Commissioner Chairman Bill Brawley directed Duke Energy to pause the approval process for solar project requests in 2026.  The order doesn’t cancel existing projects, but it means the utility won’t add new ones this year, potentially affecting solar capacity in the years ahead. 

The Southern Environmental Law Center filed a motion last on behalf of the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, Vote Solar and Sierra Club, urging the regulatory panel to reconsider the order. 

North Carolina’s power bills are already climbing faster than overall inflation, and two pending requests for rate increases by Duke Energy are likely to exacerbate that problem. Increasing solar can offset the volatility of costs for other fuels, said Mikaela Curry, Beyond Coal Campaign manager for the Sierra Club. 

“If we continue on the trajectory that we’re seeing with the cancellation of resources that have no associated fuel costs, the impact on North Carolina is going to be on our wallets,” Curry said. “It’s on our environment as well, because we know the harms that come with continuing to burn coal.” 

It’s the latest move in a push away from clean energy that’s gained momentum in President Donald Trump’s second administration. Trump refers to renewable energy initiatives as the “Green New Scam.”

The U.S. Department of the Interior signed a deal with French company TotalEnergies to end Carolina Long Bay, an offshore wind project near Wilmington, in March. The solar sector has faced cuts at the federal level as well, but is still fighting for development and investment. 

Curry also works on projects in New York, and there, places that have been able to successfully build offshore wind farms and rely on wind energy aren’t experiencing the same cost volatility as some communities in North Carolina, she said. 

“We can’t afford to be delaying clean, reliable energy on the grid,” Curry said. “I hope that we have a change of course, and we have some decisions that get these affordable, proven, reliable sources on the grid as soon as possible.”

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In North Carolina, solar development takes place over multiple years. Duke Energy submits a long-range electricity plan every other year through the Carbon Plan and Integrated Resource Plan process. 

Regulators review the proposals and testimony from involved parties before approving a mix of energy resources to meet future demand. The process involves public hearings and comments, and can take months or years to finalize.

The April 23 order appeared with no public hearing or input. Clean energy stakeholders say they were not aware it was even being considered.

Critics are saying Chairman Bill Brawley doesn’t have the unilateral power to make a change like this.

State law requires the Utilities Commission to give notice to Duke Energy and other “parties of record” to provide input, according to attorneys. 

“The authority of the chair to do things on his own is really only [for] procedural matters. It really doesn’t touch substantive things,” SELC senior attorney Nick Jimenez said. “It’s hard not to be blunt about it — we think this is just outside his authority.”

The N.C. Utilities Commission declined NC Newsline’s request for comment, and also declined on Brawley’s behalf.

In a statement, Duke Energy said the utility remains committed to solar generation in the future.

“Solar and solar paired with storage remain a key part of our diverse energy mix,” Duke Energy spokesperson Bill Norton said. “We’re still evaluating how it may impact long-term planning for the 2030s.”