New power generation: Why America’s largest electric utility is adding renewables to its energy mix

Since the beginning of the 20th century, as one of the world’s largest power generation companies, GE has provided innovation to fuel Duke Energy’s growth. Now the largest electric utility in the United States, Duke provides electricity to more than 24 million people in the Southeast and Midwest, and the utility continues to change, adding renewable sources to their energy mix.

Over the last decade, Duke has expanded into renewable energy generation, investing almost $6 billion in 60 solar installations and 20 wind farms, including projects using GE’s wind energy and power technologies. Duke Energy Renewables and Distributed Energy Technology already owns and operates more than 3,000 megawatts (MW) and manages another 3,500 MW of power generated by wind farms and solar plants owned by other operators. The company’s home state of North Carolina is now second only to California in the use and generation of solar energy as part of their renewable energy mix.

Duke Energy Renewables has opened a digital renewables control center in Charlotte, North Carolina, to monitor its renewable energy mix and ensure that they perform well and to help maintain the seamless flow of electricity across the nation’s energy grid. The power comes from a mix of energy sources: Duke’s own wind and solar plants, as well as installations owned by independent operators like Deepwater Wind, the company that built America’s first offshore wind farm near Block Island, Rhode Island. That wind farm uses GE’s massive Haliade wind turbines to create renewable electricity generation.

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Read the full story at GE Reports.