Duke Energy Acquires Two Arizona Solar Farms

Duke Energy Renewables, a commercial business unit of Duke Energy, purchased the Ajo Solar Project and Bagdad Solar Project from Recurrent Energy in August. Arizona Public Service Co. (APS) will buy all of the output from both solar farms from Duke Energy Renewables under the terms of two 25-year power purchase agreements. (APS originally signed these agreements with Recurrent Energy.)

The Ajo Solar Project, located in Pima County (near the community of Ajo), uses nearly 21,000 PV solar panels that can collectively generate almost 5 MW of electricity. The project achieved commercial operation in late September.

The Bagdad Solar Project, located in Yavapai County (near the town of Bagdad), will use about 72,000 solar panels that can collectively generate 15 MW of electricity. The project is expected to achieve commercial operation by the end of this year.

“This acquisition puts Duke Energy in a position to help Arizona’s largest and longest-serving energy service provider deliver even more affordable, zero-emission renewable power to its customers,” said Duke Energy Renewables President Greg Wolf. “For Duke Energy, this landmark deal doubles our portfolio of commercial solar projects in operation and instantly expands our footprint to the western United States.”

“These projects represent an important step in realizing our mission to establish solar as a mainstream source of electricity,” said Arno Harris, CEO of Recurrent Energy. “We’re thrilled to have a partner of Duke Energy’s caliber step into the ownership role for these innovative solar projects.”

Financial terms were not disclosed.

International engineering and project management company AMEC designed and built the Ajo andBagdad projects. AMEC will be responsible for operating and maintaining the sites under the terms of five-year service agreements with Duke Energy Renewables.

Duke Energy Renewables already owns seven PV facilities in operation: a 14-MW solar farm in San Antonio, Texas, a 6-MW project in Orlando, Fla., and five 1-MW sites in North Carolina. The company is building a 5-MW facility in Murfreesboro, N.C. In addition, Duke Energy Renewables owns more than 1,000 MW of electric-generating capacity at 10 U.S. wind farms. Since 2007, Duke Energy has invested more than $1.75 billion to grow its commercial wind and solar business lines.