The North Carolina Utilities Commission on Wednesday issued a decision
allowing Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK) to proceed with its $50-million proposal to
install solar panels on the roofs and grounds of homes, schools, office
buildings, shopping malls, warehouses and industrial plants, starting
later this year.
Duke plans build between 100 and 400 electricity-generating mini solar
power plants throughout North Carolina over the next two years, CEO Jim
Rogers said Thursday.
"Solar and wind are both going to be key parts of our strategy
going forward," Rogers told reporters following the company’s annual
meeting.
Collectively, the solar sites will generate enough electricity to power 1,300 homes.
The electricity will flow directly from the solar sites to the electrical grid that serves all customers.
Duke Energy’s solar initiative will be among the nation’s first
and largest demonstrations of distributed generation, in which
electricity is produced at numerous micro generating sites rather than
at a large, centralized, traditional power plant.
Duke Energy will own and maintain the solar panels during their
expected 25-year lifespan. The company also will own the electricity
generated.
It will pay a rental fee to property owners who host the panels
for use of their roofs or land, based on the size of the installation
and amount of electricity generated at any given site.
The solar plan is one of several renewable and clean-energy
initiatives announced by Duke Energy in the past 12 months, including
the purchase of the entire electricity output (16 megawatts) from what
will be one of the nation’s largest photovoltaic solar farms, to be built in 2009-2010 in Davidson County, N.C.
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