Duke Spends $500 Million to Expand Solar Power in North Carolina

Sept. 15 (Bloomberg) — Duke Energy Corp., the largest U.S.
utility owner by market value, is spending $500 million to build
three solar farms in North Carolina and to buy power from five
more in the state.

The three projects Duke plans to build have a combined
capacity of 128 megawatts, and the Charlotte, North Carolina-based company signed power-purchase agreements for 150 megawatts
of additional solar capacity, according to a statement today.

“We are bringing large amounts of renewable energy onto
our system in the most cost-effective way possible,” Rob
Caldwell, Duke’s senior vice president for distributed energy
resources, said in the statement.

The Warsaw, Elm City and Fayetteville projects in North
Carolina are part of about $2 billion in renewable-power
investments Duke plans through 2018, according to a presentation
on its website. The company operates 1,625 megawatts of wind
generation and 115 megawatts of solar generation in the U.S. and
about 2,100 megawatts of hydropower in Brazil.

Duke also is developing projects in Texas that will push
its U.S. wind capacity past 2,100 megawatts.

To contact the reporter on this story:
Justin Doom in New York at
jdoom1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story:
Reed Landberg at
landberg@bloomberg.net
Will Wade, Jim Efstathiou Jr.

About BloombergNEF

BloombergNEF (BNEF) is a strategic research provider covering global commodity markets and the disruptive technologies driving the transition to a low-carbon economy. Our expert coverage assesses pathways for the power, transport, industry, buildings and agriculture sectors to adapt to the energy transition. We help commodity trading, corporate strategy, finance and policy professionals navigate change and generate opportunities.
 
Sign up for our free monthly newsletter →

Want to learn how we help our clients put it all together? Contact us