RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The country’s largest electricity company plans to spend $500 million to expand its solar electricity use in North Carolina with three generating facilities of its own and power purchased from five others built by investors.
Charlotte-based Duke Energy says Monday it’s committing to using the nearly 280 megawatts from the eight projects that turn the sun’s rays into usable electricity. That’s about one-third the amount of electricity generated by Duke Energy’s coal-burning Cliffside Steam Station in Cleveland County after its upgrade almost two years ago.
The North Carolina Sustainable Energy Association says Duke Energy’s announcement has promising implications.
The company says its three new solar plants in Bladen, Duplin and Wilson counties will include one that is the largest east of the Mississippi River.
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