CHARLOTTE, N.C., Dec. 19, 2014 /PRNewswire/ — Duke Energy Renewables, a commercial business unit of Duke Energy, today announced it has acquired a 20-megawatt (AC) solar project in Roanoke Rapids, N.C., from Geenex and ET Solar Energy Corp.

The Halifax Solar Power Project, developed in partnership between Geenex, a leading solar energy developer, and ET Capital, an ET Solar energy investment company based in California, was placed into service this month. Duke Energy Renewables will own and operate the site.

“ET Solar and Geenex have created a quality solar facility, and we are excited to add it to our more than 60-megawatts of successful operating projects in Eastern North Carolina,” said Duke Energy Renewables President Greg Wolf. “We also appreciate and plan to support their community-centric vision for the project.”

The project was built on the site of a decommissioned airport in Halifax County, putting idle property into productive use.

“We are proud of the solar farm we built, but even more exciting is the partnership with the community,” said Georg Veit, CEO of Geenex. “In a unique economic development agreement with the county, we have broken ground on our Solar Center of Excellence, which will provide education about solar power and work in partnership with the schools in the region and Halifax Community College to train solar energy technicians.”

“The solar project will inject an estimated $75 million into Halifax County between 2014 and 2029, and it created more than 150 jobs during peak construction,” said Dennis She, ET Solar’s president and CEO.

The project is located in Dominion North Carolina Power’s service territory, and the energy generated from the solar site will be sold through a 15-year agreement with the utility.

The system employs 866 AE 3TL string inverters of 23.2KW AC capacity each and has about 100,000 ET Solar and Chint solar modules. It can produce enough electricity to power approximately 3,500 homes.

See video of the project at: http://youtu.be/QmHzP-i-mm4

About Duke Energy Renewables
Duke Energy Renewables, part of Duke Energy’s Commercial Businesses, is a leader in developing innovative wind and solar energy generation projects for customers throughout the United States. The company’s growing portfolio of commercial renewable assets includes 15 wind farms and 22 solar farms in operation in 12 states, totaling about 1,800 megawatts in electric-generating capacity. Learn more at www.duke-energy.com/renewables.

Headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., Duke Energy is a Fortune 250 company traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol DUK. More information about the company is available at: www.duke-energy.com.

About ET Solar
ET Solar is a leading smart energy solutions provider. With innovative solar technologies and tailored finance solutions, ET Solar provides professional one-stop solutions throughout the entire solar power plant lifecycle that includes development, financing, engineering, procurement, construction, and operations and maintenance. To learn more about ET Solar and ET Capital, please visit http://www.etsolar.com and http://www.etcapital.us.

About Geenex
Geenex is a reliable partner for solar solutions. With a background in the highly developed and competitive German solar industry, Geenex has the expertise and know-how to provide and deliver when and where it matter. Working with American partners, Geenex tailors projects and solutions to satisfy the needs of all customers. To learn more about Geenex, please visit http://geenexsolar.com/. Please send any request to info@geenexsolar.com or call 704-817-0397.

Business Contact at Geenex
Juergen Fehr
704 907 7163
Juergen.Fehr@geenexsolar.com

Contact: Tammie McGee
Office: 980.373.8812 | 24-Hour: 800.559.3853

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SOURCE Duke Energy