A large-scale renewable energy corporation has announced the addition of solar power to its commercial renewable energy options following its purchase of a large-scale photovoltaic solar panel company.
Duke Energy Generation Services announced on Monday that it intends to purchase the Blue Wing Solar Project from Boulder, Colorado-based Juwi Solar Inc. in order to begin offering solar power services under their Duke Energy Commercial Businesses unit.
The project, which will generate 14 megawatts of power through 214,000 ground-mounted solar panels from First Solar installed across 139 acres, will go into construction following the closing of the sale and is intended to be completed by the fourth quarter of 2010.
"Demand for power from renewable resources continues to rise," said Keith Trent, group executive and president of Duke Energy's Commercial Businesses. "Our entry into the commercial solar power industry reaffirms Duke Energy's commitment to generating emissions-free electricity for customers."
As part of the acquisition, Duke Energy will also enter into a 30-year power purchase agreement to sell all of the project's output and associated energy credits to San Antonio-based CPS Energy company.
Before getting involved in solar power, Duke had established itself as a leader in the wind energy business, owning and operating 733 megawatts of commercial wind power generation.
