ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., April 8, 2022 /CSRwire/ – Delivering on the company’s commitment to expand battery energy storage technology in Florida, Duke Energy announced the completion of three battery projects in Gilchrist, Gulf and Highlands counties.

Totaling nearly 34 megawatts, the recently completed facilities will enhance the customer experience by continuing to modernize grid operations, improve overall reliability and support critical services during power outages.

“Duke Energy Florida is committed to a clean energy future for our customers and communities,” said Melissa Seixas, Duke Energy Florida state president. “With each new battery site, Duke Energy takes another important step in expanding new storage technologies in Florida while maximizing benefits to our customers and the grid.”

As the grid manager and operator, Duke Energy Florida can optimize the versatility of battery technology to provide multiple customer and electric system benefits, to include balancing energy demand, managing intermittent resources such as solar energy, increasing energy security and deferring traditional power grid upgrades.

• The nearly 18-megawatt lithium battery site is located at the company’s 45-megawatt Lake Placid Solar Power Plant in Highlands County. The addition of battery storage to the utility-scale solar plant is the first of its kind for Duke Energy Florida, allowing solar energy to be dispatchable by the company’s grid operators, which improves overall plant efficiency.
• The 11-megawatt Trenton lithium battery facility is located 30 miles west of Gainesville in Gilchrist County. This newer technology will improve power reliability.
• The 5.5-megawatt Cape San Blas lithium battery facility is located approximately 40 miles southeast of Panama City in Gulf County. The project provides additional power capacity to meet customers’ increasing demand for energy. This project is an economical alternative to replacing distribution equipment necessary to accommodate local growth.

Duke Energy Florida's continued investment in battery technology reflects the company's belief that energy storage plays a significant and evolving role in how energy is delivered to customers now and in the future.

In 2022, Duke Energy will have six battery sites in operation in Florida totaling 50 megawatts of energy storage.

Time lapse video of the Trenton Battery Energy Storage site

Time lapse video of the Cape San Blas Battery Energy Storage site

Duke Energy Florida’s commitment to renewable energy

With a combined investment of more than $2 billion, Duke Energy Florida’s solar generation portfolio will include 25 grid-tied solar power plants which will benefit all Florida customers and will provide 1,500 megawatts of emission-free generation and approximately 5 million solar panels in the ground by 2024.

Duke Energy remains committed to the deployment of battery technology in Florida. A 3.5-megawatt solar plus storage microgrid site will be added at Pinellas County's John Hopkins Middle School. The microgrid will support grid operations and provide backup electric power to the school when it must operate as a special needs hurricane evacuation shelter. The microgrid consists of a 1-megawatt solar parking canopy array and a 2.5-megawatt battery and controls, which will store and deploy clean, renewable energy to the school and grid. The project enhances electric service and grid operations for customers.

In addition to expanding its battery storage technology and solar investments, Duke Energy Florida is investing in transportation electrification to support the growing U.S. adoption of electric vehicles (EV) through the addition of 627 EV charging stations, including 52 DC Fast Chargers, and a modernized power grid to deliver diverse and reliable energy solutions to best serve our customers.

Duke Energy Florida

Duke Energy Florida, a subsidiary of Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK), owns a diverse generation mix of natural gas, coal and renewables, providing about 10,200 megawatts of owned electric capacity to approximately 1.9 million customers in a 13,000-square-mile service area.

Media contact: Audrey Stasko
Cell: 315.877.3031
Media line: 800.559.3853

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Duke Energy

Duke Energy

Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK), a Fortune 150 company headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., is one of America’s largest energy holding companies. Its electric utilities serve 8.2 million customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky, and collectively own 50,000 megawatts of energy capacity. Its natural gas unit serves 1.6 million customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Ohio and Kentucky. The company employs 27,600 people.

Duke Energy is executing an ambitious clean energy transition to achieve its goals of net-zero methane emissions from its natural gas business by 2030 and net-zero carbon emissions from electricity generation by 2050. The company has interim carbon emission targets of at least 50% reduction from electric generation by 2030, 50% for Scope 2 and certain Scope 3 upstream and downstream emissions by 2035, and 80% from electric generation by 2040. In addition, the company is investing in major electric grid enhancements and energy storage, and exploring zero-emission power generation technologies such as hydrogen and advanced nuclear.

Duke Energy was named to Fortune’s 2023 “World’s Most Admired Companies” list and Forbes’ “World’s Best Employers” list. More information is available at duke-energy.com. The Duke Energy News Center contains news releases, fact sheets, photos and videos. Duke Energy’s illumination features stories about people, innovations, community topics and environmental issues. Follow Duke Energy on Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook.

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