Duke Energy passes major renewable milestone: 1 gigawatt of owned solar energy capacity

- Owned capacity serves about 2 million homes and businesses

- Part of the company's 4 gigawatts of owned and purchased solar capacity

- Delivering renewable energy to retail and wholesale customers from Florida to California

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Jul 02, 2019, 08:29 ET

CHARLOTTE, N.C., July 2, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- With the North Rosamond Solar Facility coming online last month in California, Duke Energy has passed the 1-gigawatt (GW) threshold of utility-scale owned and operated solar facilities nationwide.

Throughout the decade, Duke Energy has been building a solar portfolio that now includes almost 70 sites in 10 states, with a total capacity of 1.1 GW. At peak output, that could serve energy to approximately 2 million homes.

Duke Energy continues to build, own and operate solar energy facilities across the nation. North Carolina is the company's top solar state, with 40 facilities under operation. The company now has more than 1 gigawatt of solar power capacity under ownership.

"For nearly a decade, Duke Energy has been delivering affordable solar power to our customers. This provides significant economic benefits to our communities, while generating no environmental emissions," said Rob Caldwell, senior vice president and president of Duke Energy Renewables & Business Development.

In additional to owning and operating solar facilities, Duke Energy is one of the largest purchasers of solar power in the nation for its customers. Currently, the company purchases the output from more than 3 GW of capacity in states where it serves retail customers. Taken together, the 4 GW of owned and purchased renewables make up more than 9% of Duke Energy's generated electricity.

North Carolina is Duke Energy's biggest solar state – in addition to being the No. 2 state in the nation for overall solar power. The company owns 40 solar facilities in the state, including the 80-megawatt (MW) Conetoe Solar Facility in Edgecombe County, the 65-MW Warsaw Solar Facility in Duplin County and the 60-MW Monroe Solar Facility in Union County.

In April, the company said it would develop and own more major projects in the state. Also, Duke Energy Progress, the utility that serves portions of North Carolina and South Carolina, has been on the annual Top 10 list for utilities adding solar for the past seven years.

In Florida, Duke Energy has over 100 MW of solar generation in operation and four more solar plants targeted for operation by the end of March 2020. That represents an additional 270 MW of clean energy for customers. These investments are part of an overall solar generation expansion plan to reliably and cost-effectively grow Duke Energy Florida's solar portfolio to 700 MW by 2022.

California is Duke Energy's second-largest solar state, with 12 sites and more than 340 MW of capacity. Duke Energy Renewables continues to expand in the No. 1 solar state in the nation.

"Our future shows even more solar being built and operated by Duke Energy," added Caldwell. "One GW is a notable milestone, but we have plans for much more."

About Duke Energy

Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK), a Fortune 150 company headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., is one of the largest energy holding companies in the U.S. It employs 30,000 people and has an electric generating capacity of 51,000 megawatts through its regulated utilities and 3,000 megawatts through its nonregulated Duke Energy Renewables unit.

Duke Energy is transforming its customers' experience, modernizing the energy grid, generating cleaner energy and expanding natural gas infrastructure to create a smarter energy future for the people and communities it serves. The Electric Utilities and Infrastructure unit's regulated utilities serve approximately 7.7 million retail electric customers in six states – North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky. The Gas Utilities and Infrastructure unit distributes natural gas to more than 1.6 million customers in five states – North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Ohio and Kentucky. The Duke Energy Renewables unit operates wind and solar generation facilities across the U.S., as well as energy storage and microgrid projects.

Duke Energy was named to Fortune's 2019 "World's Most Admired Companies" list and Forbes' 2019 "America's Best Employers" list. More information about the company is available at duke-energy.com. The Duke Energy News Center contains news releases, fact sheets, photos, videos and other materials. Duke Energy's illumination features stories about people, innovations, community topics and environmental issues. Follow Duke Energy on Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook.

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SOURCE Duke Energy