City of Charlotte to receive power from 35-MW solar project

The City of
Charlotte is the first municipality to take advantage of Duke Energy’s GSA
program and is teaming up with Carolina Solar Energy and Ecoplexus to build a
35-MW solar farm.

The green
source advantage (GSA) program allows large customers to offset power purchases
by securing renewable energy from projects connected to the Duke Energy grid.
The customer may keep the renewable energy certificates (RECs) from the
projects and use the energy purchased to satisfy sustainability or carbon-free
goals.

Under the
20-year PPA, Duke Energy will secure power from the 35-MW project. The City of
Charlotte will use it to offset a portion of the energy supplied to its
municipal operations with renewable energy. 

The city and
the solar developer agreed on the project costs; therefore, Duke Energy
customers will not pay for any part of the project. The farm is expected to be
fully operational in 2022.

In 2015,
Duke Energy’s pilot program for GSA- the Green Source Rider- had major
companies, including Google, participate.

Overall, 600
MW of renewable energy capacity is available under the Green Source Advantage
for large Duke Energy customers in North Carolina.

Stephen
De May, Duke Energy’s North Carolina president added, “We designed the program
to be flexible and allow larger users to negotiate directly with third-party
developers. It supports our customers’ goal and expands renewable energy in
North Carolina.”