Duke Energy moves a step closer to its goal of 16,000 MWs of renewables by 2025. It has now achieved the 10,000 MWs mark in owning, operating, and purchasing of both solar and wind energy. Also, its Pflugerville Solar facility, came online yesterday. This mark is from its regulated and unregulated businesses in the United States.
The portfolio of Duke Energy is quite fascinating as it is the leader in providing renewable energy in the US and in 22 states it has around 200 sites. It also has few new projects in Texas, Carolinas, and Florida with more than 1,000 MWs under construction.
Currently, the company generates energy for around 2.4 million businesses and homes.
“Renewables are playing a major role as we make strong progress toward our ambitious climate goals of at least 50% carbon reduction by 2030 and net-zero by 2050. This next decade will be our biggest ever, and we’re well on our way to exceeding our decarbonization goals by growing our renewables portfolio to 16 GW by 2025 and 24 GW by 2030,” said Brian Savoy, Duke Energy’s executive vice president, chief strategy and commercial officer.
Solar development fosters economic development and job creation alongside carbon reduction and diverse energy infrastructure in the localities Duker Energy serves. As of now, the company employs 700 wind and solar technicians, support staff, project developers, and third-party contract workers. It also provides more than $29 million in annual lease payments to local landowners. In addition to all these, in the peak season of construction, the company generates hundreds of jobs in the local area they are building the projects.
Chris Fallon, president of Duke Energy Sustainable Solutions, stated, “For more than a decade, Duke Energy has been delivering low-cost renewable power to our customers. These projects deliver significant economic and environmental benefits while providing unique sustainability solutions for our customers and communities.”
The 144-megawatt (MW) Pflugerville Solar facility recently came online. It is the fifth utility-scale solar facility that Duke Energy Sustainable Solutions (a nonregulated commercial brand of Duke Energy) has placed in commercial operation in Texas. The energy generated in this project will be sold to Austin Energy under a 15-year power purchase agreement (PPA).
