Duke Energy’s commercial solar business to offer energy storage
When Duke Energy, one of the biggest U.S. electricity providers, purchased its controlling interest in REC Solar, one of the biggest U.S. commercial solar developers, it created a $225 million fund for commercial scale solar development.
With the federal investment tax credit for commercial solar expected to revert from 30% to 10% at the end of 2016, solar companies will need “scale and reach” to succeed, REC Solar CEO Al Bucknam told Utility Dive in February. Duke’s strong balance sheet and deal access gives REC Solar the scale it needs to cover the entire U.S. market, to procure effectively, and to develop more standardized, lower cost construction processes.
“A low cost position is going to be a critical advantage,” Bucknam explained. “The traditionally difficult front end process of getting a project financed is now going to be much smoother and cleaner.”
