The US Department of Defense (DoD) has announced a pioneering partnership with Duke Energy to power five military installations in North and South Carolina with renewable electricity, marking a significant step towards achieving President Biden's goal of powering the federal government with 100% clean energy by 2030.
Under the agreement, DoD will exclusively purchase 100% of the power generated by two new 135-megawatt solar farms in South Carolina, at a cost of $248 million over 15 years.
This partnership, part of Duke Energy's Green Source Advantage program, is expected to provide approximately 4.8 million megawatt hours of clean power, with operations set to begin by September 2026.
Rachel Jacobson, assistant secretary of the Army for Installations, Energy, and Environment, emphasized the importance of the collaboration, stating, “Our continuing collaboration with Duke Energy allows the Army to contribute to a more reliable commercial grid that strengthens the resilience of the defense communities where our soldiers, military families, and civilians live.”
The solar farms will power five military installations: US Army Fort Liberty, Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, and Seymour Johnson Air Force Base in North Carolina, and Shaw Air Force Base in South Carolina. Duke Energy's Green Source Advantage program enables large nonresidential customers to offset their power purchases by sourcing renewable energy from projects connected to Duke Energy's grid, with customers receiving credits for the solar farm's power against energy purchased from the grid.
