Duke Energy to replace coal plant with gas

Duke Energy Progress on March 19 unveiled a proposal to retire its Asheville Plant, a coal-fired power facility located along Lake Julian in South Asheville.

While Duke calls the move a “win-win” for the consumers, the environment and the economy, local environmental groups consider it just “a step in the right direction” and only a “half-measure,” as they had hope for total clean-energy generation via solar power and other alternatives.

The announcement includes plans to replace the coal-fired plant with a new, larger natural gas-fired operation.

If granted approval from the North Carolina Utilities Commission, the gas-fired plant could potentially produce 650 MW of electricity, almost doubling the coal-fired plant’s 376 MW output.

The natural gas originates in the Gulf Coast and will be transported to Asheville via the Transcontinental Pipeline.

However, the new natural gas facility will not be operational until the coal-fired plant is entirely demolished, which is expected to take four to five years.

Additionally, as a later phase of the project, Duke has committed to building a solar farm on the site of coal ash ponds near the plant. The capacity of the solar farm will be projected once the flat, usable land of the site is calculated.

The estimated cost of the project is $1.1 billion, which includes $750 million toward the construction of the new plant and solar farm as well as $320 million for the transmission substation, which serves as a necessary natural gas connector.

Plans call for the new plant to have a smaller footprint than the coal facility, and cooling towers would minimize temperature impacts on Lake Jullian, according to Duke.

“This is an exciting and very unique project,” Lloyd Yates, Duke Energy executive vice president of market solutions and president of the Carolinas Region, said in a press conference at Lake Julian. “It combines customer input with a number of special opportunities to create a project that is a win-win for the environment, the consumers and the economy,” Yates said.

However, local environmental groups are arguing that “Duke failed to hear what people wanted.” MountainTrue, Sierra Club, Southern Environmental Law Center and Waterkeeper Alliance issued the following joint statement:

“Folks want a bright future that supports clean energy, not a giant gas plant polluting Asheville for another 30 years. North Carolina has the opportunity to be a leader in clean energy generation through aggressive investments in solar power and energy efficiency, and Duke Energy must be a partner in that effort – but moves like this deeply undermine the ability to bring online clean, reliable 21st century energy options that will create good jobs right here at home.”

Groundbreaking for the new plant is expected to bring about 800 jobs to the region during the projected 30 months of construction. About 50 new permanent jobs will be generated once the new facility is operational, which is almost half the number of jobs at the current plant.

The plan marks the 190th coal plant announced for retirement since the beginning of the Beyond Coal campaign. The environmental groups’ joint statement asserted, “For the last three years the Asheville Beyond Coal Campaign and thousands of individuals have called on Duke Energy to transition our region off of coal.

“This has been a struggle to protect our health, our families and our communities. It has required tireless effort to pursue a brighter vision for Asheville.

“We can declare victory in securing closure of the plant, for it means an end is in sight for the air, water, and carbon pollution from this plant, but Duke’s announcement to build new gas is inconsistent with the clean energy vision we have called for.... “North Carolinians deserve clean water and home grown electricity options that invest in local communities and create jobs here in our community.

“North Carolina has some of the best potential in the nation to harvest the sun for our power needs but Duke Energy must be a partner in that investment if the state is ever to see the real benefits of clean energy. While the proposed solar farm is a step in the right direction, it falls far short of the investment needed to move the region to a clean energy future.

“Additionally, this announcement does nothing to address evidence of unsafe air pollution from the Asheville Plant; under Duke’s proposal, the plant could continue to emit sulfur dioxide at levels that threaten public health until the coal-burning units are retired.

“The retirement of the Asheville Plant is a step in the right direction, but it is a half measure, undermined by continuing reliance on an economically unpredictable and polluting source of power.

“Duke can do better, and our community deserves better. We will continue to use every tool at our disposal to fight for clean energy solutions for Western North Carolina,” the statement concluded.