(Credit: Photo courtesy of SunEdison and Zinn Photography) CHARLOTTE — Duke Energy Corp. says it plans to buy all the power generated at a massive solar power plant to be built in Davidson County.
The Charlotte-based utility said Wednesday it will purchase more than 16 megawatts of power from SunEdison, a Maryland company. The company will build the nation's largest photovoltaic solar farm in Davidson County. No financial details were disclosed.
The Davidson County Board of Commission approved about $2 million in incentives for the project during a meeting last week. The company is looking at three sites in the county, including one that is near a proposed 2,400-acre megasite off Interstate 85. SunEdison is still evaluating a specific location for the plant.
SunEdison will own and operate the facility, which is expected to provide enough power for 2,600 homes. Construction on the site will begin in late 2009, and energy from the site is expected to begin flowing by the end of 2010, Duke said.
A North Carolina law passed last year requires Duke and other utilities to get 12.5 percent of their energy from renewable sources such as the solar by 2021. Solar power has to account for two-tenths of 1 percent of company sales by 2018.
Duke's agreement with SunEdison will run for 20 years.
SunEdison Photovoltaic Solar Power Farm Fact Sheet
Aggregate Capacity: 18 MW (AC), or 21.5 MW (DC), is the nameplate combined size of facilities making up the PV Solar Farm.
The expected capacity delivered to Duke Energy customers is 16.1 MW (AC).
Total Output: 16.1 MW of photovoltaic (PV) solar capacity produces approximately 28,210,000 kilowatt hours (kWh) in its first year, the equivalent ofpowering 2,647 homes for one year.
Over 20 years, 16.1 MW of PV solar capacity will produce an estimated513,685,000 kWh, the equivalent of powering 48,206 homes for one year.
Characteristics: Solar PV power plants are independent of fossil fuel use, use little to no water in operation, and produce no noise.
Photovoltaic, literally 'Photo' (light) and 'voltaic' (electricity), means theuse of sunlight (photons) to generate electricity. Most solar photovoltaic systems use solar panels to create solar electricity. Photons from sunlight elevate electrons into a higher state of energy, creating electricity.
Location: Davidson County, North Carolina
Project Timeline: The PV solar farm will consist of 36 individual solar PV facilities, located at a single site.
Construction is anticipated to start early 3rd Quarter, 2009
Targeted commercial operation date is December 31, 2010
Capital Costs: Zero. Under this project, Duke Energy pays no upfront capital costs.
SunEdison will develop, finance, build, operate, monitor and maintain the clean solar power plant under a solar power services agreement (SPSA) with Duke Energy. There are no up-front capital costs to Duke Energy or rate payers.
Environmental Impact: In one full year of production, 16.1 MW of PV solar power offsets 32,328,660 lbs of C02. This is the equivalent of taking 3,168 cars off the road for one year.
Over 20 years, the project would offset 598,026,392 lbs of C02, which is the equal to taking 58,607 cars off the road for one year.
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