- The sites will be located in Madison, Sumter, Hernando and Jefferson counties and completed by summer
2026
- All together, they are expected to save customers
$843 million over their service
lifetimes
ST.
PETERSBURG, Fla., Feb. 21,
2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Duke Energy Florida
submitted its 2025 Solar Base Rate Adjustment (SoBRA) filing to the
Florida Public Service Commission (FPSC), outlining plans for four
solar energy sites the company is pursuing this year in order to
deliver on its commitment to continue providing reliable,
affordable and increasingly clean energy for its customers.
In accordance with Duke Energy Florida's settlement agreement –
which was approved by the FPSC in August
2024 – the company is investing over $521 million to establish solar sites in
Madison County (Sundance Renewable
Energy Center), Sumter County
(Half Moon Renewable Energy Center), Hernando County (Rattler Renewable Energy
Center) and Jefferson County
(Bailey Mill Renewable Energy Center). All together, these sites
are expected to save customers $843
million over their service lifetimes.
To date, the company has broken ground on the Sundance, Half
Moon and Rattler renewable energy centers, all of which will be in
service by January 2026. Bailey Mill
Renewable Energy Center is continuing through the permitting
process with the goal of starting construction in the summer of
2025, allowing for it to come online by the summer of 2026. During
construction, each solar site will create an average of 150
temporary jobs, and when completed, they will add nearly 300
megawatts of quiet, carbon-free energy to the electric grid.
At peak output, each of the four 74.9-megawatt solar sites will
generate enough electricity to power the equivalent of
approximately 23,000 homes, while displacing 1.2 million cubic feet
of natural gas, 15,000 barrels of fuel oil and 12,000 tons of coal
annually.
"At Duke Energy Florida, we work every day to modernize and
strengthen our generation fleet," said Melissa Seixas, Duke Energy Florida state
president. "Solar energy is an innovative, cost-effective and clean
solution we continue to implement on behalf of our customers all
across the Sunshine State."
Duke Energy Florida currently owns, operates and maintains a
portfolio of more than 25 solar sites across the state that produce
approximately 1,500 megawatts of energy. Between 2025 and 2027, the
company plans to build 12 new solar sites – including these four –
adding an additional 900 megawatts of energy to the electric grid.
In fact, by the end of 2033, the company projects to have over
6,100 megawatts of utility scale solar generating capacity
online.
Duke Energy Florida
Duke Energy Florida, a subsidiary
of Duke Energy, owns 12,300 megawatts of energy capacity, supplying
electricity to 2 million residential, commercial and industrial
customers across a 13,000-square-mile service area in
Florida.
Duke Energy
Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK), a Fortune
150 company headquartered in Charlotte,
N.C., is one of America's largest energy holding companies.
The company's electric utilities serve 8.4 million customers in
North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Indiana, Ohio
and Kentucky, and collectively own
54,800 megawatts of energy capacity. Its natural gas utilities
serve 1.7 million customers in North
Carolina, South Carolina,
Tennessee, Ohio and Kentucky.
Duke Energy is executing an ambitious energy transition, keeping
customer reliability and value at the forefront as it builds a
smarter energy future. The company is investing in major electric
grid upgrades and cleaner generation, including natural gas,
nuclear, renewables and energy storage.
More information is available at duke-energy.com and the Duke
Energy News Center. Follow Duke Energy
on X, LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook, and visit illumination for
stories about the people and innovations powering our energy
transition.
Contact: Aly Raschid
24-Hour: 800.559.3853
X: @DE_AlyRaschid
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SOURCE Duke Energy
