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Sumter County is slated to become the home of Duke Energy’s newest solar farm, the Hogeye Renewable Energy Center, as part of a massive new initiative projected to deliver $1 billion in customer savings over the next three decades.
Duke Energy Florida filed plans recently with the Florida Public Service Commission to build four new solar energy sites by mid-2028. Together, these sites will add 300 megawatts of clean energy to the state’s electric grid.
The Hogeye Renewable Energy Center will be located right here in Sumter County. Construction on the site is expected to begin in May 2027, with the facility slated to be fully operational by May 2028. The other three planned facilities—the Nova, Bull Creek, and Wewahootee Renewable Energy Centers—will all be constructed in neighboring Orange County.
Duke Energy currently operates 25 solar sites across Florida. Each of these new solar sites can power about 15,000 homes. Because the sites run entirely on solar power rather than natural gas or oil, the utility estimates that each facility will save customers $250 million in displaced fuel costs during its roughly 30-year lifespan.
“At Duke Energy Florida, our job is to make smart, disciplined investments today that will benefit our customers tomorrow,” said Melissa Seixas, Duke Energy Florida state president. “These solar energy sites are just one example of how we’re planning for the future and strengthening our system to continue providing safe, reliable power, at the lowest possible price, for years to come.”
The financial benefits will also appear directly on customer bills. Through the Inflation Reduction Act, Duke Energy Florida transfers approximately $75 million in production tax credits to customers annually, reducing monthly bills by at least $2.50 per 1,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity used.
From an environmental standpoint, the emission-free energy produced at a single solar site saves about 1.1 million cubic feet of natural gas, 12,000 barrels of fuel oil, and 9,000 tons of coal every year.
To maximize these new facilities, Duke Energy Florida is also expanding its use of utility-scale batteries to store energy when demand is low and release it when customers need it most. Over the next decade, the company plans to build over 1 gigawatt of battery storage.
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