Duke Energy Ohio Issues Renewable Energy Request for Proposals

CINCINNATI - Duke Energy Ohio announced today that it is seeking proposals for renewable energy resources to begin delivering energy in the 2009-2012 time period to comply with requirements under Ohio’s new renewable energy portfolio standards.

The proposal also defines the types of renewable resources that would qualify:

* Wind energy
* Solar photovoltaic or solar thermal energy
* Geothermal energy
* Fuel derived from solid wastes not mainly due to combustion
* Biomass energy
* Hydroelectric power
* Biologically derived methane gas
* Energy derived from pulping/wood manufacturing
* Fuel cells
* Storage facilities that use off-peak power from renewables.

The Ohio energy law recently signed by Governor Strickland requires Ohio utilities to generate 50 percent of their renewable power from facilities located in the state. As a result, the company will give preference to renewable power produced in Ohio.

“This is the first step in implementing one of the key provisions of the new Ohio energy statute,” said Sandra Meyer, president of Duke Energy Ohio. “We hope that our request will garner significant interest in the renewables industry in Ohio.”

Since the administrative rules implementing the new law have not been issued, Duke Energy Ohio reserves the right to update the request for proposals as necessary. Bidders will be asked to submit a notice of their intent to bid, so the company can provide any updates to those interested in bidding. A Web site has also been established for bidders, but all proposals must be made in hard copy. The Web site is: http://www.duke-energy.com/environment/ohio-rfp.asp.

Duke Energy’s Ohio operations deliver safe, reliable and competitively priced electricity to approximately 687,000 electric customers and natural gas service to approximately 424,000 customers.