Duke Energy Signs Up for Largest US Photovoltaic Project

http://www.solarbuzz.com/News/NewsNAPR1093.htm

Duke Energy Carolinas will purchase the entire electricity output of the nation's largest photovoltaic solar farm to be built in Davidson County, N.C., north of Charlotte.

Under agreements signed with SunEdison, customers of Duke Energy Carolinas with an expected nameplate capacity of 18 megawatts (AC) or 21.5 megawatts (DC) will start operating the solar farm beginning no later than December 31, 2010. The agreements run for 20 years.

"We said we wanted to lead the way in the development of more renewable energy and we meant it," said Keith Trent, group executive and chief strategy, policy and regulatory officer. "Today's agreements, coupled with the other significant initiatives across our company, clearly demonstrate that renewable energy has an important place in our power generation portfolio."

The SunEdison agreements are a result of a request for proposals, or RFP, that Duke Energy issued in April 2007. It was the first RFP of its kind in North Carolina and was specifically designed for potential renewable providers.

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