Duke Energy Florida's two newest solar sites bring clean energy, local economic benefits to customers and communities

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May 03, 2023, 11:17 ET

New sites in Bay and Levy counties continue to add to the company's community solar program portfolio
Both facilities will provide economic benefits including increased tax revenues to the counties they operate in

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., May 3, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Just three weeks after the company announced the completion of two solar sites in north Florida, Duke Energy has brought online two more solar projects in Bay and Levy counties.

The new sites are part of the company's community solar program portfolio, Clean Energy Connection, and add to Duke Energy's continued commitment in expanding its renewable resources and providing clean, reliable and affordable energy to program subscribers.

The Bay Ranch Renewable Energy Center is built on 650 acres in Bay County, Fla. The 74.9-MW facility consists of approximately 220,000 single-axis tracking solar panels.
The Hardeetown Renewable Energy Center is built on 750 acres in Levy County, Fla. The 74.9-MW facility consists of more than 200,000 single-axis tracking solar panels.

At peak output, each site will generate enough carbon-free electricity to power what would be equivalent to around 23,000 homes.

The projects employed around 200-300 workers during construction. Along with indirect economic benefits that accompany solar project development, such as increased local spending, the new facilities will also have a positive economic impact on the local community by providing significant tax revenues to the counties they operate in.

"Not only are these new solar sites helping advance Florida's clean energy transition, but they will also provide real savings to committed program subscribers and additional economic benefits to our communities," said Melissa Seixas, Duke Energy Florida state president.

How the program works

Through the Clean Energy Connection program, Duke Energy Florida customers can subscribe to solar power and earn credits toward their electricity bills without having to install or maintain their own equipment.

Customers subscribe to a portion of solar energy from the company's Clean Energy Connection solar generation portfolio. The monthly subscription fee will help pay for the cost of construction and operation of the company's solar generators at its renewable energy centers and is conveniently added to a customer's regular electric bill. Customers also receive a corresponding subscription credit on their bill that is tied to their share of the renewable energy produced by the solar centers in a given month. The credit is determined by multiplying the customer's share of renewable energy by a subscription credit rate, which escalates over a customer's committed subscription duration.

Enrolled income-qualified customers will receive immediate bill savings, as monthly credits will always be greater than the program fees. Current participation in any of these or related programs can be used to qualify: Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Medicaid, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), SNAP-EBT, Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), and Duke Energy Neighborhood Energy Saver.

Duke Energy Florida customers who are interested in the program can learn more through the Clean Energy Connection website.

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.

Media contact: Audrey Stasko
Media line: 800.559.3853
Twitter: @DE_AudreyS

SOURCE Duke Energy