Duke Energy made its first foray into solar power a big one, saying it will buy all the power generated by the nation's largest solar farm of its kind, to be built in Davidson County, N.C.
Duke said it signed a 20-year deal Wednesday with SunEdison, which runs about 100 solar farms in six states, Canada and Spain. The 16 megawatts of electricity it will deliver to Duke customers — enough to power 2,647 homes for a year — will make it the nation's largest solar photovoltaic farm.
Maryland-based SunEdison is among solar suitors being drawn to North Carolina by a state law passed last August that created a new market for renewable energy, such as the sun and wind. The measure requires utilities to increase the percentage of electricity generated from renewable sources, starting at 3 percent in 2012 and reaching 12.5 percent by 2021.
Read the full story at Charlotte.com.