Duke Energy has gotten the go ahead to install between 100 and 400  mini solar plants across North Carolina.  All of these mini power plants will feed directly into the grid delivering enough power for 1,300 homes.  Along with the mini solar plants, Duke is planning other renewable energy projects.

To accomplish its goal, Duke Energy will be installing solar panels on the roofs and grounds of homes, schools, office buildings, shopping malls, warehouses and industrial plants.  Duke will own and maintain the solar installations over the next 25 years – the expected life-span of the solar panels.  The electricity generated by the solar panels will be owned by the company as well.  The owners of the residences, businesses and other properties will be paid rent based on the size of the installation and the amount of energy generated.

Since all of the solar installations and the electricity generated will be owned by Duke, all of the installations will hook directly into the grid.  The properties housing the installations will get the indirect benefit of using green energy rather than the direct benefits of having the energy hooked into the property and the excess going into the grid.

By using smaller solar installations to add power to the grid through out the State, fewer customers may suffer from power outages due to weather or central power plant problems.  Also there should be less loss of energy since the electricity will not be traveling from one central point outwards but from many different points maintaining a constant level of electricity.

Along with the mini installations, Duke will also be purchasing electricity from what will eventually be one of the world’s largest solar farms when it is built in 2009-2010.  This solar farm will be in Davidson Co., North Carolina and will generate 16 megawatts of energy.  Duke Energy will be buying all 16 megawatts for its customers.

Along with both of these planned solar projects, the company will also be tapping into land fills in North Carolina and South Carolina.  The methane gas emitted by the decaying garbage will used to generate electricity.  Duke will be buying the biogas generated electricity.

North Carolina and South Carolina are not the only states to benefit from Duke Energy’s growing green energy initiative.  Wind farms in Texas and Wyoming will be generating electricity for Duke Power beginning this year.  More wind farms are planned for Wyoming and 14 other states.

Duke also plans a joint venture with AREVA to build wood waste power plants.  The wood waste would be used as feedstock to generate electricity from biomass.  How many of these power plants will be built is still unknown.

Duke Energy is taking the green economy and green initiatives seriously which can only be good news for its customers and the States in which they live.

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Entry was posted on Friday, May 8th, 2009 at 4:41 pm under Green Technology.

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