Duke Energy Florida, One Tree Planted collaboration encourages customers to support clean energy, restoration efforts through company's community solar program

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Oct 13, 2023, 11:58 ET

For every residential customer that signs up for Duke Energy Florida's community solar program, the company will plant a tree

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., Oct. 13, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Thanks to a recent collaboration between Duke Energy Florida and One Tree Planted, customers who subscribe to the company's community solar program, Clean Energy Connection, will have the opportunity to support clean energy and contribute to restoration efforts at one of Florida's most-treasured state forests.

Through the program, Duke Energy Florida customers can subscribe to solar power and earn credits toward their electricity bills without the commitment of installing or maintaining rooftop panels. And, for every kilowatt a residential customer subscribes to the program before Nov. 15, the company will work with One Tree Planted to plant a tree in the Lake Wales Ridge State Forest in Polk County.

"At Duke Energy Florida, we are committed to delivering a cleaner, brighter energy future for our customers, communities and the environment," said Melissa Seixas, Duke Energy Florida state president. "By working with agencies like One Tree Planted, we are able to deliver on that commitment and provide customers with an opportunity to support renewable energy and protect Florida's environment."

One Tree Planted will plant longleaf pines and South Florida slash pines on two sites in the state forest. The project is expected to improve the quality of recreational opportunities and improve the soil and water for the plants and animals that live here. Customers who enroll before Nov. 15 will add to the more than 7,000 trees being planted on behalf of the company's current subscribers.

The Lake Wales Ridge State Forest is home to threatened and endangered plant and animal species including the Florida scrub-jay, gopher tortoise, papery Whitlow-wort, Florida blazing star, and cutthroat grass.

How the community solar program works

Customers subscribe to a portion of solar energy from the company's Clean Energy Connection solar portfolio. The monthly subscription fee will help pay for the cost of construction and operation of the renewable energy centers and is conveniently added to a customer's regular electric bill. Customers also receive a corresponding subscription credit that represents their share of the energy produced by the solar centers in a given month, multiplied by the subscription credit rate, which begins to escalate annually after three continuous years of subscription in the program.

Duke Energy Florida customers who are interested in the program can learn more through the Clean Energy Connection website at duke-energy.com/CEC.

Duke Energy Florida

Duke Energy Florida, a subsidiary of Duke Energy, owns 10,500 megawatts of energy capacity, supplying electricity to 1.9 million residential, commercial and industrial customers across a 13,000-square-mile service area in Florida.

Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK), a Fortune 150 company headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., is one of America's largest energy holding companies. Its electric utilities serve 8.2 million customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky, and collectively own 50,000 megawatts of energy capacity. Its natural gas unit serves 1.6 million customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Ohio and Kentucky. The company employs 27,600 people.

Duke Energy is executing an aggressive clean energy transition to achieve its goals of net-zero methane emissions from its natural gas business by 2030 and net-zero carbon emissions from electricity generation by 2050. The company has interim carbon emission targets of at least 50% reduction from electric generation by 2030, 50% for Scope 2 and certain Scope 3 upstream and downstream emissions by 2035, and 80% from electric generation by 2040. In addition, the company is investing in major electric grid enhancements and energy storage, and exploring zero-emission power generation technologies such as hydrogen and advanced nuclear.

Duke Energy was named to Fortune's 2023 "World's Most Admired Companies" list and Forbes' "World's Best Employers" list. More information is available at duke-energy.com. The Duke Energy News Center contains news releases, fact sheets, photos and videos. Duke Energy's illumination features stories about people, innovations, community topics and environmental issues. Follow Duke Energy on Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook.

One Tree Planted

One Tree Planted is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit on a mission to make it simple for anyone to help the environment by planting trees. Their projects span the globe and are done in partnership with local communities and knowledgeable experts to create an impact for nature, people, and wildlife. Reforestation helps to rebuild forests after fires and floods, provide jobs for social impact, and restore biodiversity. Many projects have overlapping objectives, creating a combination of benefits that contribute to the UN's Sustainable Development Goals. Learn more at onetreeplanted.org.

Contact: Audrey Stasko
24-Hour: 800.559.3853
Twitter: @DE_AudreyS

SOURCE Duke Energy