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.
“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 America 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.