Progress Energy Carolinas, Carolina Solar Energy to develop Person County solar park

ROXBORO, USA: Progress Energy Carolinas and Carolina Solar Energy have completed an agreement under which Carolina Solar Energy will design, build and operate a 500-kilowatt (kW) solar photovoltaic (PV) plant on the site of the Person County Business and Industrial Center near Roxboro, N.C., and sell the energy produced to the utility for distribution to its customers.

Carolina Solar Energy will build the solar PV array on about 4 acres on HWY 501 just south of Roxboro. It will use more than 3,250 High Efficiency CS I 200 WATT crystalline PV Solar modules generating approximately 837,000 kilowatt-hours in the first year. The Person County Solar Park will produce energy later this year and is another step in Progress Energy's plans to meet the growing needs of its customers with renewable energy and achieve the goals of North Carolina's Senate Bill 3 energy law, passed in 2007.

"Solar power is an important part of our balanced energy strategy for meeting the region's needs," said Lloyd Yates, CEO and president of Progress Energy Carolinas. "We are continuing to pursue cost-effective solar and other renewable opportunities aggressively, and we expect to announce additional renewable energy investments soon. Meanwhile, we're promoting increased energy efficiency and working to ensure we have state-of-the-art power plants and infrastructure. We will continue to look for new, innovative ways to help meet our customers' needs reliably, affordably and in an environmentally sound manner."

Carolina Solar Energy proposed this latest PV solar project in response to Progress Energy's request for renewable energy proposals issued in 2008. Project financing was secured through a tax advantaged lease from BB&T Equipment Finance Corporation.

"Photovoltaic solar technology has come a long way in the past few decades and there is no longer any doubt that solar power is becoming a viable investment in North Carolina, and will only improve as more projects are deployed, driving prices even lower," said Richard Harkrader, CEO of Carolina Solar Energy, LLC.