What It Takes To Operate 5,500 Megawatts of Renewable Energy

By Ben Williamson

When heavy rain threatens to swell the Catawba-Wateree River, Duke Energy must act quickly to help protect nearby communities. At the center of those decisions is a nondescript office in northeast Charlotte, N.C., where a small but vital team oversees a diverse portfolio of renewable energy.

Equipped with hundreds of cameras and hundreds of thousands of alarms, the Regulated Renewable Operations Center (RROC) serves as the central hub for this work. It is staffed around the clock, even holidays, to quickly adapt to changing conditions, such as weather or electricity demand.

“We have eyes on everything 24/7,” said Dustin Sipes, lead renewables portfolio specialist at Duke Energy. “We have several hundred thousand alarms, and we've got almost 500 cameras. At any point, we can call up a camera and see anything that is going on across the fleet.”

As the RROC celebrates its 25th anniversary in February, the team reflects on the advantages of remotely monitoring and managing the company's renewable energy assets. Their diverse portfolio includes a mix of hydro and solar sites, as well as batteries – devices that store energy and then release it when customers need power.

With demand for electricity increasing across all Duke Energy service areas, particularly in the Carolinas, the RROC will continue to play a key role in the company’s plans to meet growth reliably while continuing a legacy of innovation that spans generations.

An evolving role

Sipes, a fourth generation Duke Energy employee, brings more than 16 years of experience to a role that continues to evolve alongside the company’s energy transition.

“I’m a veteran in the office now – and there’s some pride in that – but in some ways, I still feel like the 22-year-old kid who walked in here 17 years ago,” he said. “It’s exciting to watch as new technologies are developed, so I’m still kind of learning something every day with the way our work grows and changes with the industry.”

Today, the RROC operates 76 hydro units, 33 solar sites and a handful of batteries, representing 5,500 megawatts (MW) of energy. Centralized operations allow for greater efficiency, improved responsiveness and seamless integration of new technologies.

A centralized approach

In the past, each hydro station was staffed 24/7 and operations were managed through phone calls. System and station upgrades in the 1990s enabled the company to bring hydro operations under one roof with the creation of Hydro Central (predecessor to the RROC) in 2000.

This team, housed in a small office in Uptown Charlotte, helped the company apply standardized operating practices across the fleet and allowed for greater information sharing and quicker response to emerging issues, while reducing operational costs and maintaining compliance with environmental and regulatory requirements.

Over time, as solar and battery assets were added to the grid, the office evolved into the RROC, reflecting its broader focus.

“Duke Energy was and continues to be a pioneer in renewable asset automation and remote operations,” Sipes said. “When we started developing solar assets, we quickly saw the value that remote operations would bring to these new assets. Bringing everything into one office lets all the gears spin together. As our portfolio has grown, so has our team.”

A growing portfolio (and team)

And growth is only accelerating. By 2030, the RROC’s portfolio is expected to nearly triple to more than over 16,000 MW of energy, and double again to more than 30,000 MW by 2035. These proposed investments are part of Duke Energy’s commitment to meet rising electricity demand while supporting economic development with a diverse energy mix.

“It’s exciting and unique to help manage hydro – the company’s oldest form of energy generation – alongside new technologies like solar and batteries,” said Aaron Dale, director of the RROC team. Dale oversees the RROC portfolio expansion, ensuring the team is prepared to implement new technologies as renewable energy management evolves.

“We’re always looking at what skills we’ll need, what new equipment is hitting the market, and whether our training is keeping pace,” he said. “Every asset we bring on requires unique considerations, so flexibility and agility are key.”

As the portfolio grows, so will their team of about 20 people. Building on the RROC’s diverse energy technologies and expertise, Dale said they’ll look for operators who’ve worked at traditional thermal power plant to experts in information technology (IT) and environmental monitoring.

Some team members have already transitioned from Duke Energy’s retired power plants, including Thomas Slade, who spent 40 years as an operator at Allen Steam Station in Gaston County, N.C.

“I’ve been well supported here,” he said of transitioning to the RROC. “They have given me lots of information and the team is always ready to help me understand. This is a great opportunity.”

A generational legacy

Sipes continues a Duke Energy legacy that spans much longer than the 25 years the RROC has been in service. His family tie to Duke Energy begins more than 100 years ago just after the company first harnessed the power of water for electric generation.

“My great grandfather Walter Sipes was supposedly on the crew that helped construct the Lookout Shoals Dam back in 1914,” he said of one of the first dams built on the Catawba River. “My grandfather Sam spent several decades with Duke Energy and retired as a transmission supervisor.”

And Sipes’ father, Foy, worked as a Duke Energy hydro technician for more than 40 years before retiring in 2021.

“It’s really nice to have that personal connection,” he said. “[My dad may be retired] but he is still teaching me new things.”

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