Duke Energy has passed the 1-gigawatt (GW) mark of utility-scale owned and operated solar facilities in the U.S.
Duke Energy’s solar portfolio includes almost 70 sites in 10 states, with a total capacity of 1.1 GW that can serve energy to approximately 2 million homes.
“Duke Energy’s solar power provides economic benefits to communities, while generating no environmental emissions,” said Rob Caldwell, senior vice president and president of Duke Energy Renewables & Business Development.
Duke Energy is also one of the largest purchasers of solar power in the nation for its customers. The company purchases the output from more than 3 GW of capacity in states where it serves retail customers. The 4 GW of owned and purchased renewables make up more than 9 percent 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 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 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.
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.