We thank Duke Energy for listening to legitimate concerns from the public and having the wisdom to change its plan to run a 45-mile transmission line across environmentally sensitive areas of Western North Carolina. 

The change also will eliminate the need for a new substation.

Instead, Duke announced Nov. 4 a reconfiguration of plans — for its Lake Julian plant in Skyland — that involves the construction of two smaller natural gas plants to replace the one coal plant that the utility plans to shut down by 2020.

Previously, Duke had said it would build one gas-fired generator to replace its coal-burning turbines. The two smaller units will allow one to provide backup for the other in case one goes down.

What’s more, Duke Energy officials issued a challenge to the WNC community — to make significant conservation efforts to reduce power demand throughout the region. Otherwise, they said, a third gas-fired plant might be needed at Lake Julian by 2023, or so.

“We’re eager to ramp up our efforts in working with the community to reduce power demand across the region through energy efficiency, demand response, renewable energy and other technologies to work collectively to avoid building additional generation in the area for as long as possible,” Duke’s Nov. 4 press release stated.

To that end, we encourage individuals, businesses and various groups in our area to do all they can to improve energy efficiency and adopt renewable energy sources.