Quick answer
Duke Energy Florida's Clean Energy Connection charges $8.35 per kW a month in exchange for bill credits from Duke's solar plants. The credits start small and grow slowly, so savings take years: Duke has cited about seven years, and a Duke representative told Pinellas County homes would see no benefit for about 12. Rooftop solar usually saves more and can add hurricane backup.
How does Duke's Clean Energy Connection work?
You subscribe to a share of Duke's solar plants, in kW, and pay a monthly fee of $8.35 per kW. In return you get a bill credit for each kWh your share produces, starting at about 4 cents per kWh for the first 36 months and rising 1.5% a year after that. Duke built about 750 MW of solar at 10 sites for the program, all running as of February 2025.
Duke's terms let you cancel at any time, but you can't rejoin for 12 months, and new subscribers go on a waitlist when the program is full.
How long does Clean Energy Connection take to pay off?
Years. In 2022 Duke said credits would exceed fees for subscribers who stay about seven years. In April 2025, a Duke representative told Pinellas County commissioners that homes see no financial benefit for about 12 years, and the county pulled out of the program over the long wait. SolarReviews estimates the best case shows no net savings until about year 14.
The program also went through a legal challenge: the Public Service Commission approved it in January 2021, the Florida Supreme Court sent it back for a better explanation in May 2022, and the commission approved it again that September.
Is rooftop solar better than Clean Energy Connection?
| Clean Energy Connection | Rooftop solar | |
|---|---|---|
| Upfront cost | None; monthly fee | Cash or financing |
| How you save | Bill credits per kWh, starting at about 4¢ | Every kWh offsets your full retail rate |
| Hurricane backup | None | Possible with a battery |
| Adds home value | No | Can |
| If you move | Can move with you only within Duke's Florida area | Stays with the house |
Rooftop solar credits every kWh at the full retail rate under net metering, so it usually saves far more per kWh than a subscription credit. Subscriptions suit homes with heavy shade or a roof that can't take panels. See solar with Duke Energy Florida and why your Duke bill is so high.
How big a Clean Energy Connection subscription can I buy?
Duke lets you subscribe to up to 100% of your past 12 months of energy use, and its program page says a subscription can stay with you if you move within Duke Energy Florida's service area. At $8.35 per kW, a 5 kW share costs $41.75 a month before credits; in 2022 coverage, a home using about 1,000 kWh a month needed about 5 kW.
Because the credits start below the fee, a bigger subscription means a bigger monthly net cost in the early years.
How do Duke's 2026 bill cuts change the comparison?
Duke Energy Florida bills fell in steps during 2026: by about $44 per 1,000 kWh in March, when the storm recovery charge for Debby, Helene and Milton ended, and to about $50, or 25%, below January from June through September, after Duke returned extra storm collections through lower fuel rates. Duke has asked regulators for a small cut again in January 2027.
Lower bills shrink what each rooftop kWh saves, because rooftop solar offsets your retail rate. Clean Energy Connection credits are set by the program, starting at about 4¢ per kWh and rising 1.5% a year, so they don't follow your bill. When rates rise again, rooftop savings rise with them.
What about Tampa Electric's Sun Select?
Tampa Electric's Sun Select works differently: you choose to match 25%, 50% or 100% of your use with solar, and a fixed solar charge of 6.3 cents per kWh replaces the fuel charge on that share. TECO says it doesn't offer Sun Select to customers with their own rooftop panels. See why your TECO bill is so high and FPL SolarTogether vs. rooftop solar.
Sources
- Duke Energy Florida: Clean Energy Connection
- Duke Energy Florida: Clean Energy Connection for homes
- Duke Energy Florida: Nearly 750 MW solar commitment delivered (2025)
- Duke Energy Florida: Program providing solar access while lowering bills over time
- WUSF: Pinellas pulls the plug on clean energy initiatives with Duke Energy (Apr. 2025)
- SolarReviews: Duke Energy solar programs in Florida
- Florida PSC: Order re-approving Clean Energy Connection (2022)
- WUWF: Supreme Court tosses solar case back to Public Service Commission (May 2022)
- Tampa Electric: Sun Select FAQs
- Tampa Electric: Tariff section 3, net metering rate schedule NM-1
- Florida Administrative Code Rule 25-6.065: Interconnection and net metering of customer-owned renewable generation
- Renewable Energy World: Duke Energy completes first of 10 community solar projects in Florida (2022)
- FOX 35: Duke Energy Florida to lower customer bills in March 2026
- Duke Energy Florida: Third rate reduction lowers residential bills by about $50 (May 2026)
- St. Pete Catalyst: Duke bills to fall by $50 this year as storm recovery charge ends (May 2026)
- Duke Energy Florida requests to lower rates in 2027 (Sept. 2026)
This guide is general information, not tax, legal or financial advice. Incentive programs change, so confirm current terms with your installer, your utility and a tax professional.