jmc

Let the side length of the equilateral triangle be $d$. $15/3=5$ Joules of energy are stored when two charges are at distance $d$, so $2\cdot 5=10$ Joules are stored when they are at distance $d/2$, because energy is inversely proportional to distance. This means that in the second configuration, the pair $(A,C)$ and $(B,C)$ store 10 Joules each, and since $(A,B)$ still stores 5 Joules, the final configuration stores a total of $10+10+5=25$ Joules, which is $25-15=\boxed{10}$ Joules more than the initial configuration.