Duke Energy's first solar plant in Surry County, N.C., goes online

• Stony Knoll facility to generate 22.6 MW of carbon-free electricity
• North Carolina county's largest solar plant

CHARLOTTE, N.C., April 12, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Duke Energy continues to expand solar power in North Carolina with its 22.6-megawatt (MW) Stony Knoll Solar power plant in Surry County now in operation.

The project is owned and operated by Duke Energy Sustainable Solutions (DESS). The project was selected as part of the competitive bidding process established by 2017's solar legislation in North Carolina.

The solar plant contains 76,600 panels with single-axis tracking. The plant is located on 195 acres in Dobson, N.C. – near Rockford Road. The facility will power the equivalent of 5,000 homes.

"In addition to our many renewable energy projects across the nation, North Carolina continues to be fertile ground for solar power," said Chris Fallon, president of Duke Energy Sustainable Solutions. "With the help of our partners in Surry County, we have brought online the largest solar power plant in the county."

The facility's design and construction of the project were performed by SOLV Energy. The solar power generated by the project will be delivered through a 20-year power purchase agreement.

North Carolina is fourth in the nation for overall solar energy. The outlook is promising for more solar energy in the future as Duke Energy develops a proposed Carolinas Carbon Plan, which will be submitted to regulators in May.

"Solar power continues to play a vital part of our clean energy transition," said Stephen De May, Duke Energy's North Carolina president. "We expect renewables to grow significantly in the years ahead as we focus on meeting our customers' needs for increasingly clean energy."

A leader in renewable energy

Duke Energy is leading the largest clean-energy transformation in the United States. It maintains more than 4,200 MW of solar power on its energy grid in North Carolina, which could power about 800,000 homes and businesses at peak output. The company also operates more than 40 solar facilities in the state. With nuclear, hydro and renewable energy, more than half of North Carolina's energy mix is carbon-free.

Duke Energy Sustainable Solutions

Duke Energy Sustainable Solutions is a leader in sustainable energy, helping large enterprises reduce power costs, lower emissions and increase resiliency. The team provides wind, solar, resilient backup power and managed energy services to over 1,000 projects across the U.S., with a total electric capacity of more than 5,100 megawatts of nonregulated renewable energy. Duke Energy Sustainable Solutions is a nonregulated commercial brand of Duke Energy, a Fortune 150 company and one of the largest energy holding companies in the U.S. The brand includes the following subsidiaries of Duke Energy Corporation that are registered to transact business in various states and may be branded as Duke Energy Sustainable Solutions for marketing purposes: Duke Energy One, Inc.; Duke Energy Commercial Enterprises, Inc.; Duke Energy Renewables, Inc.; Duke Energy Renewables Commercial, LLC; Duke Energy Renewable Services, LLC.; Duke Energy Renewables Storage, LLC; Duke Energy Renewables Wind, LLC.; Duke Energy Renewables Solar, LLC.; and REC Solar Commercial Corporation.

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SOURCE Duke Energy