Driven by Duke Energy’s five-year, $62 million solar rebate program, which helps pay for the upfront costs of solar systems, about 5,500 Duke Energy customers in North Carolina installed private solar systems at their homes and businesses in 2020.
Today, more than 18,000 Duke Energy customers have a private solar system.
During 2020, Duke Energy connected almost 350 megawatts of solar power capacity, which could power roughly 60,000 homes. Major projects in 2020 included Duke Energy's 69 MW Maiden Creek solar facility in Catawba County and the 25-MW Gaston County solar facility in Bessemer City.
Duke Energy owns and operates more than 40 solar facilities in North Carolina. The state is a national leader for solar power – trailing only California and Texas in the amount of solar power produced. Overall, Duke Energy has more than 3,700 MW of solar energy connected to its energy grid in the state.
The outlook for future solar power in North Carolina looks promising. In 2020, Duke Energy and most of the major solar industry developers in the Carolinas agreed to a defined process and timeline by which a substantial additional amount of new solar generation will be connected to the Duke Energy distribution system.
Almost 60% of Duke Energy's generation in the Carolinas is carbon-free, with nuclear, solar and hydroelectric power being the leading sources of carbon-free generation.
Duke Energy helped large customers go solar in 2020 with its Green Source Advantage program. The City of Charlotte, Bank of America and Duke University are all pursuing new solar projects under the company's program, which allows large energy users to negotiate directly with solar developers on independent solar projects.
In 2019, Duke Energy met its companywide goal of owning and contracting for 8,000 MW of wind, solar and biomass generation around the nation.
In 2020, the company set a new goal of doubling that figure by 2025. Today, the company has a portfolio of roughly 57,000 MW of generation, which includes all fuel sources.
