Corning signs 50-MW solar PPA with Duke Energy

US technology materials company Corning Inc (NYSE:GLW) on Monday said it has signed a 25-year power purchase agreement (PPA) for solar electricity with Duke Energy Renewables.

Corning will buy 62.5% of the output of a 80-MW solar farm being constructed by Duke Energy Renewables in Conetoe, North Carolina. The expected amount to be purchased is 120,300 MWh per year, which Corning says is enough to power about 10,000 US homes. The contract will start in the first quarter of 2016.

Corning, which has five sites in North Carolina with more than 3,000 employees, said the PPA will provide additional clean energy to the electric grid, while reducing the company's greenhouse gas footprint.

Commenting on the contract, Rocky Mountain Institute, a nonprofit organisation, said: "Beyond pioneers from the ICT sector, we are seeing this year large corporations such as Corning - coming from a variety of industrial and services sectors - entering the [clean energy] market for the first time as fast followers."

Duke Energy Renewables is part of US utility Duke Energy Corp (NYSE:DUK).

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