Duke Energy CEO, President and Vice Chairman Lynn Good announced today a $2.5 million grant to North Carolina State University to support research in renewable energy and efforts to attract and retain underrepresented groups in the university’s College of Engineering.

“We greatly appreciate our university’s long-term relationship with Duke Energy and its ongoing support of NC State,” said NC State Chancellor Randy Woodson. “This generous grant further advances NC State’s leadership role in developing the critical technologies and diverse workforce needed to drive the engineering and energy industries of the future.”

The multi-year grant, distributed through the Duke Energy Foundation, includes $1.5 million to establish an endowment for the Future Renewable Electric Energy Distribution and Management (FREEDM) Systems Center based in the College of Engineering at NC State. The FREEDM Systems Center, a prestigious National Science Foundation Engineering Research Center, is a collaboration of leaders in research, industry and engineering education working to revolutionize the nation’s power grid and facilitate the development and implementation of new renewable electric-energy technologies.

An additional $1 million of the grant will support annual workforce development programs and scholarships that attract and retain underrepresented groups in the College of Engineering, as well as K-12 outreach programs to create a pipeline of students interested in engineering careers.

“Duke Energy has supported NC State University for more than 25 years and values its relationship with an institution that prepares the next generation workforce through competitive programs in engineering and energy,” said Good. “Graduates of these programs will help shape the future of our energy industry.”

Good announced the grant April 8 at a luncheon at the Park Alumni Center on NC State’s Centennial Campus.