Duke Energy, a prominent US utility company, has sealed a 20-year agreement with renewable energy developer Ranger Power to acquire 199MW of solar power in Indiana. The deal, which has received approval from the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission, will enable Duke Energy to purchase the electricity generated by Ranger Power's Speedway solar project, located south of Gwynneville, Indiana. Construction of the facility commenced in March and is anticipated to conclude by September 2025.
Once fully operational, the Speedway solar project is poised to become the largest of its kind in Indiana, according to Ranger Power. This development marks a significant step for Duke Energy in its pursuit of diversifying its energy generation resources and advancing towards a cleaner energy future.
See also: Duke Energy Launches Largest Solar Facility in Idaho with the 120MW Jackpot Solar Project
Stan Pinegar, the President of Duke Energy Indiana, expressed the company's commitment to emission-free solar power, stating, “The emission-free solar power that this new facility generates will help us continue to diversify our generation resources and make meaningful progress toward a cleaner energy future.”
Duke Energy has outlined plans to establish 2.2GW of solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity in Indiana as part of its broader objective to deploy 30GW of renewable energy capacity by 2035. In its ten-year plan announced last year, the company pledged to invest a substantial $40 billion into zero-carbon generation sources across the United States.
See also: Duke Energy Adds 150MW to Solar Portfolio in Northern Florida
Recently, Duke Energy divested its clean energy division to Brookfield Renewable for $2.8 billion, encompassing its 5.9GW clean energy portfolio. This transaction forms part of a series of significant acquisitions made by Brookfield, which has also obtained Spanish renewables developer X-Elio and Australian company Origin Energy earlier this year.