Duke Energy has secured approval from the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission for its 20-year agreements with two solar developers to purchase up to 20MW of solar power for its Indiana customers.

The developers will build and operate four solar projects, each producing up to 5 megawatts of electric power. The projects include:

Pastime Farm in Clay County, McDonald Solar in Vigo County and Sullivan Solar in Sullivan County, developed by Cypress Creek Renewables, and Kokomo Solar 1 in Howard County, developed by Inovateus Solar.

The projects in Clay and Vigo counties are expected to provide energy by the end of 2015. The Sullivan and Howard county projects are expected to be operational before June of 2016.

"We’re providing our customers with home grown sources of clean, sustainable, renewable energy with these projects," said Melody Birmingham-Byrd, president of Duke Energy Indiana. "They are emission-free resources that help us diversify our Indiana power generation. They also are also an investment in local communities."

By adding solar generation to its Indiana’s power resources, the company will gain experience in contracting and interconnecting with utility-scale solar facilities.

The projects are part of a 2013 environmental settlement between Duke Energy Indiana and consumer groups to pursue more green energy sources.

The company issued a request for proposals in February 2014 for developers interested in supplying the company with solar energy.