Duke Energy Florida to invest in solar, grid enhancements

Duke Energy Florida (DEF) will increase its use of solar power and make improvements to the grid to enhance reliability, security and resilience in 2019.

The company will invest in its Citrus Combined Cycle Natural Gas Plant and Hamilton Solar Power Plant. Duke Energy Florida broke ground on the Hamilton Solar Power Plant in Jasper, Fla., in July. The facility will generate 74.9 megawatts (MWs) of energy, which is enough to power more than 20,000 homes at peak production. It will be operational in December 2018.

Further, the Citrus Combined Cycle Facility will also open in December 2018 to all customers. The combined cycle facility is Duke Energy Florida’s most efficient power plant due to its use of clean-burning natural gas and highly efficient technology.

With these improvements, the typical residential customer using 1,000 kilowatt hours (kWh) will see an increase of 88 cents (less than 1 percent) in their monthly bill starting January 1, 2019.

“Customers expect us to deliver electricity that is reliable, increasingly clean and more secure, while also providing more value and options every single day,” Catherine Stempien, Duke Energy Florida state president, said. “We’re working to accomplish these critical goals by making investments to build a smarter energy future.”

Duke Energy Florida provides about 9,300 MWs of owned electric capacity to approximately 1.8 million customers in a 13,000-square-mile service area using natural gas, coal and renewables. Duke Energy Florida is a subsidiary of Charlotte, N.C.-based Duke Energy.