Solar Energy

Duke Energy continues to build its solar energy portfolio in support of our strategy to increase our investment in renewable energy through both centralized large-scale applications and locally placed panels on rooftops and on the ground. 

SunEdison Solar Project

Duke Energy reached a 20-year agreement in May 2008 to purchase approximately 16 megawatts of energy from the nation’s largest photovoltaic solar farm, to be built by SunEdison in Davidson County, N.C. Once operational in late 2010, the farm will supply enough electricity to power more than 2,600 homes in the Carolinas.

The SunEdison agreement is the result of a request for proposals (RFP) that Duke Energy issued in April 2007. It was the first RFP of its kind in North Carolina and was specifically designed for potential renewable energy generators.

Solar Distributed Generation Project

In May 2009, the North Carolina Utilities Commission issued a revised order allowing Duke Energy to proceed with a proposal to install electricity-generating solar panels on the roofs and grounds at various sites in North Carolina, including homes, schools, office buildings, shopping malls, warehouses and industrial plants.

The 10-megawtt project, one of the first large-scale initiatives of its kind in the U.S., will be a solar distributed generation network capable of supplying electricity to about 1,300 homes. Distributed generation is energy created close to customers rather than at large, centralized power plants.

Duke Energy will own and maintain the solar panels during their expected 25-year lifespan. The company also will own the electricity generated and pay a rental fee to property owners who host the panels for use of their roofs or land, based on the size of the installation and amount of electricity generated at any given site.

Additional Solar Projects