Duke Energy is inviting customers in Florida to register to subscribe to its community solar program – Clean Energy Connection.
Duke Energy Florida customers can sign up for a share of solar energy produced without installing or maintaining their own equipment. They can receive bill credits for the solar energy generated by their participation and lower their costs.
Duke Energy is using a random selection process to provide customers with the opportunity to subscribe without the pressure of enrolling on a first-come, first-served basis. Customers will have one week from the go-live date of April 20 to register their subscription request.
“Our customers want affordable, clean energy options, and we believe larger-scale solar is the most cost-effective way to advance the benefits of solar on our entire system,” said Melissa Seixas, Duke Energy Florida state president.
Customers can subscribe to kilowatt blocks of solar power from the company’s Clean Energy Connection solar portfolio. The monthly subscription fee will help pay for the cost of construction and operation of the solar power plants and is conveniently added to a customer’s regular electric bill.
The monthly subscription fee is fixed at $8.35 per kW. A customer with average usage of 1,000 kWh / month could subscribe to approximately 5 kW to cover their full usage. Subscribers receive bill credits based on their subscription size and the amount of solar energy that is produced by the Clean Energy Connection solar facilities each month.
The program sets aside 26 megawatts (MW) for low-income customers who participate in government subsidy programs or Duke Energy’s low-income energy efficiency program, Neighborhood Energy Saver.
With program enrollment, low-income customers will see guaranteed savings on their program costs every month.
Duke Energy Florida’s solar generation portfolio will include 25 grid-tied solar power plants which will benefit all Florida customers and will provide 1,500 MW of emission-free generation and approximately 5 million solar panels in the ground by 2024.
Duke Energy Florida leads the state in the amount of customer-owned or leased renewable interconnections, which includes processing over 1,300 customer applications per month.
Duke Energy Florida currently has over 400 MW and more than 46,000 customers with solar generation at their home or business that are relying on the power grid.
Duke Energy Florida owns 10,300 megawatts of energy capacity, supplying electricity to 1.9 million residential, commercial and industrial customers across a 13,000-square-mile service area in Florida.