Duke Energy Corp. (DUK) said Monday that it has agreed to buy a large-scale solar photovoltaic project under development in San Antonio, Texas, making it the first acquisition by the company of a solar power project. The company's commercial business unit, Duke Energy Generation Services, will purchase the 14-megawatt Blue Wing Solar Project from Boulder, Colorado-based juwi solar Inc.
The project will be the first commercial solar power project that Duke Energy will own and operate, and will consist of 214,500 ground-mounted thin film panels made by First Solar, Inc. (FSLR).
Further, the company said that construction will follow the close of the acquisition, which is expected in the first quarter of 2010. The 139-acre project is expected to be completed and energized by the fourth quarter of 2010. No other terms were disclosed.
Keith Trent, group executive and president of Duke Energy's Commercial Businesses said, "Demand for power from renewable resources continues to rise. Our entry into the commercial solar power industry reaffirms Duke Energy's commitment to generating emissions-free electricity for customers."
The deal also includes a 30-year power purchase agreement to sell all of the output from the solar farm and associated renewable energy credits to San Antonio-based CPS Energy, a municipality-owned utility.
Charlotte, North Carolina-based Duke Energy said that although it plans to wholly own the Blue Wing project, it continues to look for opportunities to jointly develop commercial solar power projects in the U.S. with China-based ENN Group, pursuant to an agreement signed in October 2009.
The company had said in October that it entered into an agreement with ENN Group to accelerate the development of low-carbon and clean energy technologies. The deal includes potential development of commercial solar projects and also encompasses joint technology development in coal-based clean energy, biofuels, natural gas, smart grid, energy efficiency and carbon-capturing algae.
Duke Energy owns and operates 733 megawatts or MW of commercial wind power generation, a figure that will rise to nearly 1,000 MW by the end of 2010. In total, the company has committed more than $1 billion since 2007 to build its wind energy business.
In Monday's regular trading session, DUK is trading at $16.59, up $0.04 or 0.24% on a volume of 1.22 million shares.
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