Duke Energy Corp said Thursday that its Florida unit will begin construction of a pilot floating solar array of regarding 1 megawatt at the end of the month in Polk County.
The pilot project will include more than 1,800 floating solar modules and occupy approximately 2 acres of water surface at the company’s Hines Energy Complex in Bartow.
According to the Solar Energy Industries Association, 1 MW of solar energy powers approximately 173 homes.
Last month, Duke increased its five-year investment plan to $65 billion, regarding 80% of which is for low-carbon energy.
The energy company’s electric and gas companies serve more than 8 million businesses and homes in the Carolinas, parts of Florida and the Midwest, and have approximately 50,000 MW of power capacity.
