Food Lion's distribution center is one of four sites where Duke Energy will install rooftop solar panels as part of the first phase of its solar power generation program in North Carolina, Duke said in a press release today.

Duke will install 5,616 solar panels at the Food Lion facility, which will generate 1.3 megawatts of electricity, the press release said.

Other sites where Duke will install solar panels in this phase are: Highwood Properties in Greensboro, which will house a 1.6-megawatt system which includes 7,020 rooftop solar panels; National Gypsum Co. in Mount Holly, a 1.2-megawatt system with 5,096 solar panels; and Childress Klein Properties in Charlotte, a 532-kilowatt (.5-megawatt) system with 2,314 solar panels.

Duke's press release said the sites were selected based on their ready access to the electrical grid and solar productivity potential, in addition to other essential lease agreement criteria. Installations will begin immediately, with all phase-one systems being installed by the end of the first quarter of 2010.

The North Carolina Solar Photovoltaic Distributed Generation program, approved by the N.C. Utilities Commission earlier this year, enables Duke Energy to install solar panels on the roofs and properties of manufacturing facilities, commercial buildings and homes in the company's North Carolina service territory.

Duke Energy will invest approximately $50 million to construct and own a total of 10 megawatts of solar energy capacity in the state, capable of providing electricity to approximately 1,300 homes, the company said.

"This distributed solar generation program remains one of the country's largest programs of its kind and further demonstrates our commitment to renewable energy investment," said Brett Carter, president of Duke Energy Carolinas. "We remain committed to exploring programs that give our customers the opportunity to contribute to a greener tomorrow."