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Company to host groundbreaking for Perry Solar Facility
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Second such facility in a strategic, long-range plan to install up to 500 megawatts of solar power in the state by 2024
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Duke Energy Florida will host a groundbreaking ceremony in Perry, Fla., to kick off construction of its Perry Solar Facility, located about 50 miles Southeast of Tallahassee.
The ceremony for the 5-megawatt Perry Solar Facility will be held at 10 a.m. on Friday, Jan. 22.
The new solar installation is one of many steps Duke Energy Florida is taking to provide customers greater access to renewable energy. It is the second solar facility in a strategic, long-range plan to install up to 500 megawatts of solar power in the state by 2024.
“We are proud of the advancements we’re making in Florida’s solar development,” said Alex Glenn, Duke Energy state president – Florida. “This is just one more step in providing cleaner, smarter energy solutions that customers value.”
Announced last October, the Perry Solar Facility will be constructed on 22 acres of utility-owned land in Taylor County using approximately 22,000 solar panels. It will be roughly the size of 17 football fields. Work is expected to be completed by June of 2016 and the new installation will be owned and operated by Duke Energy Florida.
“We look forward to partnering with Taylor County and other local communities to make these solar projects an ever increasing part of our energy mix,” Glenn added.
In addition to the Perry site, construction is already underway on the company’s 3.8-megawatt project in Osceola County, also announced last year. Site preparation activities are underway and include land grading and installation of signage. Construction is expected to be completed by spring of 2016.
The Osceola solar facility is on 17 acres of a larger 25-acre parcel owned by Duke Energy Florida. It will feature 15,000 solar panels.
One megawatt of large-scale solar is equivalent to approximately 200 typical residential rooftop systems. The number varies by state and conditions.
In 2015, Duke Energy Florida also announced construction of a 5-megawatt solar facility that will serve Reedy Creek Improvement District, the power provider to Walt Disney World. The project is expected to be completed in spring 2016 and will span 20 acres and feature 48,000 solar panels.
A $1 million rooftop solar and battery storage project has also been developed in conjunction with the University of South Florida St. Petersburg. The project is complete and powering a parking garage.
Over the past eight years, Duke Energy has invested more than $4 billion in solar and wind facilities in 12 states including the company’s Stanton Solar Farm located in Orange County, which became operational in 2011. The company plans to invest about $3 billion in renewable energy over the next five years.
Duke Energy Florida
Duke Energy Florida owns coal-fired and natural gas generation providing about 9,000 megawatts of owned electric capacity to approximately 1.7 million customers in a 13,000-square-mile service area.
With its Florida regional headquarters located in St. Petersburg, Fla., Duke Energy is the largest electric power holding company in the United States. Its regulated utility operations serve approximately 7.3 million electric customers located in six states in the Southeast and Midwest, representing a population of approximately 23 million people. Its Commercial Portfolio and International business segments own and operate diverse power generation assets in North America and Latin America, including a growing portfolio of renewable energy assets in the United States.
Headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., Duke Energy is a Fortune 250 company traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol DUK. More information about the company is available at duke-energy.com.