Duke Energy of North Carolina has announced the opening phase of a distributed solar power project that will see thousands of photovoltaic panels deployed in various parts of the state.

The project will take advantage of existing rooftop space and other areas to generate 10 megawatts of electricity at a cost of about $50 million.

"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.

So far, the company has announced four locations that will receive photovoltaic panels as part of the project. Among them are National Gypsum Company in Mount Holly, which will include 5,096 panels generating about 1.2 megawatts of energy, and a 1.3 megawatt system at a Food Lion in Salisbury.

Duke noted that under state law, utilities must derive 12.5 percent of their power from renewable sources or energy efficiency measures by 2021.

All of the properties are said to be readily accessible to the existing electrical grid and the current phase of solar power projects are expected to be done by the first quarter of 2010.