Duke Energy Renewables invests in bald eagle research, education in Oklahoma
- Support of Sutton Avian Research Center provides public with livestream video access to bald eagle nesting activity
- Eagles typically build nests in late fall and early winter, with eggs arriving in December, January
NEWS PROVIDED BY Duke Energy
CHARLOTTE, N.C., Dec. 10, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- During bald eagle nesting season, avian enthusiasts agree the best things come in pairs.
That's especially true this season as Duke Energy Renewables has partnered with Sutton Avian Research Center in Oklahoma on the installation of the center's second eagle nest camera, now livestreaming video at suttoncenter.org.
Duke Energy Renewables provided grants totaling $37,500 to support the Sutton Center's original camera in Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge – the longest consistently running nest camera in the nation – and fund the installation of a second nest camera in rural Bartlesville, just half a mile from the Sutton Center.
The second camera is now live on the Sutton Center website, and an adult eagle and a juvenile eagle have been spotted in the area. In Oklahoma, eagles typically refresh the nest in late fall or early winter, with eggs appearing in December or January.
The Sutton Center is well-known for its avian research and successful bald eagle recovery programs. It is credited with restoring Oklahoma's bald eagle population from zero nesting pairs in the 1980s to more than 200 nesting pairs today.
"People care more when they can connect with the natural world," said Lena Larsson, Ph.D. and the executive director at the Sutton Center. "Duke Energy Renewables' grant supports the Center's mission to find cooperative conservation solutions for birds and the natural world through science and education. Especially now when people are staying inside to avoid the coronavirus, providing a safe window for experiencing nature up close is tremendously important."
Duke Energy Renewables is one of the nation's top renewable energy providers. It is a commercial business unit of Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK), a leader in developing national best practices to reduce bird impacts at wind facilities and from power lines.
"The incredible work of the Sutton Center complements our own efforts to prioritize the conservation of wildlife where our renewable energy projects are located, including Frontier Windpower II in Oklahoma and the eagle protection measures we've implemented there," said Chris Fallon, president of Duke Energy Renewables. "We're proud to be an active participant in the Sutton Center's education efforts as we deliver on our mission to provide safe, clean, renewable energy in a sustainable way."
In 2019, Duke Energy Renewables announced the largest wind power project in its fleet – the 350-megawatt (MW) Frontier Windpower II project in Kay County, Okla., which is nearing completion.
Frontier II is an expansion of Frontier Windpower, which has been operational since 2016. The Frontier II project will incorporate IdentiFlight, an advanced technology that quickly detects eagles and slows a turbine to prevent collisions, as part of the company's comprehensive eagle management plan.
Once complete, Frontier I and II will generate a total of 550 MW of wind energy – enough clean energy to power approximately 193,000 homes.
Front-row seat
The Sutton Center's bald eagle cameras provide web users around the globe a front-row seat to the birds' real-time nesting activities; nesting season for Oklahoma bald eagles extends from November to June.
Known to mate for life and live for decades, bald eagles can boast wingspans of up to 8 feet. Bonded pairs often return to the same nesting site year after year, where eagle cams can reveal their unique personalities, courting rituals, egg laying, incubation habits, feeding strategies, and the sometimes heartbreaking survival challenges of eaglets.
Sutton Research Center
The George Miksch Sutton Avian Research Center (Sutton Center) is a private, nonprofit organization located near Bartlesville, Okla. It was founded in 1983 with the mission of finding cooperative conservation solutions for birds and the natural world through science and education. The Sutton Center focuses on educating young people and enriching their lives through free, inclusive and accessible education programs that work in concert with our wildlife recovery efforts.
The Sutton Center has become a leader in avian research and conservation and has conducted intensive, conservation-oriented, ecological field research on declining grassland birds, developed and applied techniques for the reintroduction and monitoring of Southern bald eagles, managed the successful captive breeding of endangered species and performed bird surveys across the world. For more information about supporting its mission, visit suttoncenter.org, email info@suttoncenter.org, or follow Sutton Center on Facebook and Instagram.
Duke Energy Foundation
The Duke Energy Foundation provides philanthropic support to meet the needs of communities where Duke Energy customers live and work. The Foundation contributes more than $30 million annually in charitable gifts and is funded by Duke Energy shareholder dollars. More information about the Foundation and its Powerful Communities program can be found at duke-energy.com/foundation.
Duke Energy Renewables
Duke Energy Renewables, a nonregulated unit of Duke Energy, operates wind and solar generation facilities across the U.S., with a total electric capacity of 3,000 megawatts. The power is sold to electric utilities, electric cooperatives, municipalities, and commercial and industrial customers. The unit also operates energy storage and microgrid projects. Visit Duke Energy Renewables for more information.
Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK), a Fortune 150 company headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., is one of the largest energy holding companies in the U.S. It employs 30,000 people and has an electric generating capacity of 51,000 megawatts through its regulated utilities, in addition to Duke Energy Renewables' capacity.
Duke Energy is transforming its customers' experience, modernizing the energy grid, generating cleaner energy and expanding natural gas infrastructure to create a smarter energy future for the people and communities it serves.
Duke Energy was named to Fortune's 2020 "World's Most Admired Companies" list, and Forbes' 2019 "America's Best Employers" list. More information about the company is available at duke-energy.com. The Duke Energy News Center contains news releases, fact sheets, photos, videos and other materials. Duke Energy's illumination features stories about people, innovations, community topics and environmental issues. Follow Duke Energy on Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook.
SOURCE Duke Energy
W. M. Keck Observatory and Duke Energy's REC Solar announce completion of major sustainability project in Hawaii
- 133-kW rooftop solar site is world's largest commercial solar system installed at highest altitude
CHARLOTTE, N.C. and MAUNA KEA, Hawaii, Dec. 10, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Duke Energy's REC Solar and W. M. Keck Observatory have completed the world's largest commercial solar system installed at the record-breaking altitude of 13,600 feet.
The rooftop solar project – located near the summit of Mauna Kea, a dormant volcano on the Big Island of Hawaii – will reduce Keck Observatory's carbon footprint and lower its cost of energy.
The solar photovoltaic (PV) system is located on the rooftop of Keck Observatory's telescope facility, between the domes of the twin Keck I and Keck II – among the world's largest optical and infrared telescopes. The system will annually produce 259.1 MWh of energy, which will reduce the observatory's electric power needs by about 10-15% and eliminate 183 metric tons of carbon emissions.
"Incorporating renewable energy generators such as solar PV is important to Keck's core values of stewardship and service. It will reduce our reliance on electricity derived mainly from fossil fuels, which underscores our efforts to be good stewards of the planet," says project lead Mark Devenot, infrastructure specialist at Keck Observatory.
Hawaiian Electric approved operation of the PV system on Sept. 30, 2020. The system consists of a 133-kW photovoltaic array and 332 solar panels that are strategically placed on the unique 20,940-square-foot ballasted roof to avoid snow and ice fall from the domes, as well as high winds that occasionally occur a few times a year.
"One of the biggest challenges was attaching the PV array to this type of roof, which has no structural framework to anchor the system," says Devenot.
To address this issue, the solar system was custom engineered for the unique ballasted roof design and to support high winds. The team also had to deal with working at high altitude, which averaged 40% less oxygen than at sea level.
"Incorporating rooftop solar at Keck Observatory has been a special experience for the REC Solar team due to the project's focus on science, safety and innovation," says Dan Alcombright, managing director, growth implementation at Duke Energy. "Our team remained respectful of land and wind limitations throughout construction and leveraged our local experience and detailed weather data to engineer solar with specialized mechanical attachments that can handle the wind gusts and climate of a Pacific island at high altitude. We're pleased to be able to provide Keck with a viable energy solution that positively impacts both their organization and the environment."
At high altitude, the panels will catch more photons and produce more energy than at sea-level locations. This is because sunlight atop Mauna Kea doesn't have to travel through as much of the Earth's atmosphere where the photons could be absorbed by something else. Having 40% less atmosphere, which is one of the reasons that makes Mauna Kea one of the best places on Earth to conduct astronomy, also makes for efficient solar energy generation.
REC Solar has developed more than 100 commercial and utility-scale solar projects across the Hawaiian Islands, including Keck Observatory's Waimea headquarters in 2013. This new rooftop solar installation at Keck Observatory's telescope facility on Mauna Kea provides a unique research opportunity for the team to gather data on how solar panels operate in a thinner atmosphere with a high UV index and under higher than average winds. The team will continue to monitor and analyze these conditions for future solar installations at high altitudes.
W. M. Keck Observatory
The W. M. Keck Observatory telescopes are among the most scientifically productive on Earth. The two 10-meter optical/infrared telescopes on the summit of Mauna Kea on the Island of Hawaii feature a suite of advanced instruments including imagers, multi-object spectrographs, high-resolution spectrographs, integral-field spectrometers, and world-leading laser guide star adaptive optics systems. Keck Observatory is a private 501(c) 3 non-profit organization operated as a scientific partnership among the California Institute of Technology, the University of California, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The Observatory was made possible by the generous financial support of the W. M. Keck Foundation. The authors wish to recognize and acknowledge the very significant cultural role and reverence that the summit of Mauna Kea has always had within the Native Hawaiian community. We are most fortunate to have the opportunity to conduct observations from this mountain. For more information, visit: www.keckobservatory.org.
Duke Energy Renewables / REC Solar
REC Solar is a business unit of Duke Energy Renewables, a nonregulated affiliate of Duke Energy (DUK) that operates 3,000 MW of wind and solar generation facilities across the U.S. Based in San Luis Obispo, Calif., with offices in Petaluma, Calif., and Honolulu, Hawaii, REC Solar has installed over 800 solar, energy storage, microgrid, and EV fleet charging sites for commercial, public sector and utility-scale customers. The company provides design, engineering, financing, operations and maintenance services, allowing for a simplified customer experience. Visit Duke Energy Renewables or REC Solar for more information.
Media contact: Jennifer Garber
Media line: 800.559.3853
SOURCE Duke Energy
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