The Bailey Mill Solar Center will add 74.9 megawatts of quiet, carbon-free energy to the grid, enough to power the equivalent of approximately 15,000 homes
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ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Duke Energy Florida has recently completed construction on the Bailey Mill Solar Center, a solar site located near Monticello, in Jefferson County. At peak production, the site's 163,000 solar panels will produce enough electricity to power approximately 15,000 homes.
Why it matters
Bailey Mill is expected to save customers $250 million in fuel costs over its service lifetime.
As Florida continues to grow, solar sites such as Bailey Mill increase energy capacity to help provide safe and reliable power to customers. Expanding solar energy helps displace the cost of fuel, like natural gas, that would otherwise be needed to generate electricity. This creates savings for customers because the price Duke Energy Florida pays for fuel is a direct pass-through cost reflected on their bills.
At peak output, the Bailey Mill solar site will displace 1.2 million cubic feet of natural gas, 15,000 barrels of fuel oil and 12,000 tons of coal annually.
For every four solar sites completed, the company's 2 million customers save an estimated $1 billion in fuel costs over their service lifetimes.
Additional solar sites planned in Florida
Duke Energy Florida currently owns, operates and maintains a portfolio of over 25 solar sites across the state with a combined capacity of approximately 1,850 megawatts of energy.
Bailey Mill is one of five solar sites that have been completed since 2025. Before the end of 2028, the company plans to complete an additional 11 solar sites, further increasing its renewable energy portfolio.
By the end of 2033, the company projects to have over 5,500 megawatts of utility scale solar generating capacity online.
Our view
"The launch of Bailey Mill is another step toward lowering long-term energy costs for our customers," said Melissa Seixas, Duke Energy Florida state president. "Every solar site we bring online reduces the amount of fuel we need to purchase, and those savings go directly to our customers' bills. We're grateful to the Jefferson County community for partnering with us to make this project possible."
Duke Energy Florida
Duke Energy Florida, a subsidiary of Duke Energy, owns 12,500 megawatts of energy capacity, supplying electricity to 2 million residential, commercial and industrial customers across a 13,000-square-mile service area in Florida.
Duke Energy
Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK), a Fortune 150 company headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., is one of America's largest energy holding companies. The company's electric utilities serve 8.7 million customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky, and collectively own 55,700 megawatts of energy capacity. Its natural gas utilities serve 1.6 million customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Ohio and Kentucky.
Duke Energy is executing an energy modernization strategy, keeping customer value at the forefront as it invests in electric grid upgrades and efficient generation resources to strengthen the system and serve growing energy needs.
More information is available at duke-energy.com. Follow Duke Energy on X, LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok and Facebook for stories about the people and innovations powering its communities.
Media Contact: Laitin Sterling
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