Duke Energy

The commercial renewables segment develops, owns, and operates utility-scale wind and solar projects that sell power under long-term contracts to municipalities, electric cooperatives, and corporate buyers. This unregulated arm operates at market-based returns and adds a growth vector outside the rate base model, though it represents a smaller share of consolidated earnings compared to the regulated utilities.

The regulated footprint spans the Carolinas, Florida, Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana, covering approximately 95,000 square miles of service territory. The Carolinas represent the largest concentration of customers and rate base investment, with Florida and the Midwest serving as secondary regulated clusters.

Capital deployment is concentrated in long-lived physical infrastructure — transmission lines, distribution networks, natural gas pipelines, and generation plants — with investment cycles spanning decades. The regulated subsidiaries file integrated resource plans with state commissions that outline 15- to 20-year capital expenditure needs, prioritizing grid hardening, storm resilience, and coal-to-gas and coal-to-renewables transition projects.