North Carolina Solar PV Distributed Generation Program Harnessing the Power of the Sun

Duke Energy customers show their support of renewable energy and protect the environment in a variety of ways. Our customers in North Carolina can now add another way to that list – the N.C. Solar PV Distributed Generation Program.

By 2011 the N.C. Solar PV DG program, in whole, expects to generate up to 10 megawatts of capacity annually throughout Duke Energy’s North Carolina service territory.

About the Solar Program
Duke Energy’s solar initiative will be among the nation’s first and largest demonstrations of distributed generation, in which electricity is produced at numerous micro generating sites rather than at a large, centralized, traditional power plant.

Solar panels will be installed on the roofs and grounds of homes, schools, office buildings, shopping malls, warehouses and industrial plants.

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

Site Selection
Site selections for both roof and ground installations have been divided into three phases:

• Phase 1 selections are complete and four large nonresidential customers that best met the program’s criteria were selected. Installations at these sites began December 2009 and are expected to be complete by April 2010.
• Phase 2 applications are closed for review and notifications have been made to those selected to participate. Host sites will be announced in February and construction will begin in March to be completed by December 2010.  This phase will include both roof and ground mount installations for large (installations between 250 kW to 1 MW) and mid-size nonresidential customers (installations between 50 kW to 250 kW). Due to the limited nature of the program, we selected fewer than 20 customers as host sites for this phase.
• Phase 3 will begin with notifications to residential customers in mid-March 2010. This phase will target approximately 20 homes in the McAlpine area of Charlotte. Due to extensive investments already made to the area’s electrical infrastructure, the McAlpine circuit was identified as a region that could produce the most from the distributed generation systems. Residential installations are expected to start in June and be complete by December 2010. Rental incentives are estimated around $20/month to be paid over the life of the 25 year lease agreement.

Do I Qualify?
The application window for residential sites in the target area will remain open through March 2010.  We have already reached our limit for nonresidential applicants.

If you are interested and meet the initial criteria below, you can still complete our online form to submit your name as a potential host site. We will make every effort to accommodate your request.

• You are a Duke Energy Carolinas residential customer located in the greater McAlpine area of Charlotte.
• You own the home or property.
• The roof being considered is five years old or less.
• The area being considered for solar panels is not shaded from the sun by trees or other obstructions.