Friday, April 03, 2009 at 1:25:45 PM - by Danny Vo

North Carolina is home to a new solar energy resource in the form of a 1.2 megawatt facility.

According to Progress Energy, the solar array is located on 10 acres of land not far from Wilmington. Under the announced plan, Progress will purchase electricity as well as renewable energy credits from SunEdison under a 20-year solar energy agreement. SunEdison built, financed, owns and operates the facility.

"Hand in hand with the increased investment in alternative energy sources is our aggressive promotion of energy efficiency, as well as our commitment to ensure that we have state-of-the-art power plants and infrastructure," said Lloyd Yatest of Progress Energy Carolinas in a statement.

While this is the first solar energy venture between the two companies, Progress Energy did point out that some other North Carolina projects include a 1 megawatt facility being constructed by software company SAS in Cary, as well as another megawatt-sized project under development in western North Carolina.

Under North Carolina law, 12.5 percent of energy sales must come from renewable sources by 2021.