Would you be willing to rent your roof? That's just what Duke
Energy will be asking people in North Carolina to do over the
next couple of years. The utility is planning to rent space at
425 sites across the state to start generating solar power by
2010. The power company originally wanted to install solar
panels at 850 sites at a cost of $100 million, but the plan was
struck down by a consumer advocacy group within the state's
Utilities Commission. The revised $50 million project is
expected to generate enough electricity to power 1,300 homes.
All residential customers, whether they're renting their roofs
or not, will pay 8 cents a month for the project. Commercial
customers and factories will pay more per month. Duke's
ambitious plan is spurred by North Carolina's requirement that
renewable energy produce 12.5 percent of the state's electricity
by 2021. The utility thinks the project could go a long way
towards meeting the state's goal if they could ultimately
install panels at thousands of sites. Duke isn'