Duke Energy Renewables, part of Duke Energy’s Commercial Businesses, and SOLON Corporation announced the completion of the 10-megawatt (MW) Black Mountain Solar Power Project near Kingman, Arizona. Duke Energy Renewables purchased the Black Mountain photovoltaic project from SOLON Corp. in May 2012. SOLON designed and constructed the solar array and will continue to handle operations, monitoring and maintenance of the system.

“The Black Mountain solar farm joins our growing portfolio of projects in Arizona,” said Duke Energy Renewables President Greg Wolf. “With Black Mountain now producing electricity, Duke Energy has established a solid presence in the state with 37 MW of solar power in commercial operation. We’re pleased to be bringing clean, renewable energy from the Black Mountain project to Arizona homes and businesses.”

The utility-scale solar project in Mohave County began providing power to customers of UniSource Energy Services (UES) in mid-December. UES is purchasing the power generated at the Black Mountain site through a 20-year agreement. It is the largest solar array in UES’s renewable energy portfolio and is expected to produce enough energy to power about 1,900 homes annually.

“We’ve dedicated significant time and effort to embrace solar energy as a clean, cost-effective renewable resource for our customers,” said Paul J. Bonavia, chairman and CEO of UES and its parent company, UNS Energy Corporation. “The Black Mountain system shows how we can expand our renewable energy portfolio while also investing in our community and help to create jobs.”

“We commend Duke Renewables as well as UniSource Energy Services for their commitment to renewable energy," said Jared Schoch, vice president and general manager of power plants at SOLON Corporation. “The completion of Black Mountain is another success story of industry partners working together to provide cost-effective solar to utilities, homes and businesses. We are especially proud that this project created more than 250 local jobs during its construction.”

The Black Mountain Solar Power Project consists of 42,000 PV panels and puts SOLON at over 60MW of solar installations in Arizona. It is Duke Energy Renewables’ 13th wholly owned commercial solar project. In addition to Black Mountain, Duke Energy Renewables has four other commercial solar projects in Arizona:

- Ajo Solar Project, Pima County

5 MW capacity, in service since Sept. 2011, 21,000 PV panels installed

- Bagdad Solar Project, Yavapai County

15 MW capacity, in service since Dec. 2011, 72,000 panels installed

- Prescott Valley Solar Project, Prescott Valley

1.5 MW DC capacity, in service since May 2012, 13,524 panels installed

(The Prescott Valley Solar Project was developed by INDU Solar Holdings, LLC, a joint venture formed by Duke Energy Renewables and Integrys Solar, LLC. )

- Gato Montes Solar Project, Tucson

6 MW capacity, in service since Dec. 2012, 48,000 panels installed

Since 2007, Duke Energy has invested more than $2.5 billion to grow its commercial wind and solar business.