North Carolina

Duke Energy announced plans to build more natural gas-fired generation capacity and look at nuclear power in order to meet the increased demand for power in its Carolinas service territory. The utility also said it will delay the retirement of some coal-fired facilities as it seeks to increase the supply of electricity for data centers and manufacturing plants.

Regulators in North Carolina have approved Duke Energy’s plan to replace some of the utility’s coal-fired units with natural gas-fired generation. The North Carolina Utilities Commission in December issued orders in support of the gas-fired units. The state’s Dept. of Environmental Quality (DEQ) on Dec. 20 granted air permits for the gas-fired plants. Duke plans […]

An Arizona utility plans to build a battery energy storage system (BESS) that will help it store more of the region’s abundant solar energy, enabling the power to be used after the sun goes down. Tucson Electric Power (TEP) in early October said it plans to start operating what would be the largest energy storage […]

PLANO, Texas (May 31, 2023) – Advancing its commitment to vehicle electrification and building where it sells, Toyota will assemble an all-new, three-row, battery electric SUV at Toyota Kentucky starting in 2025. The company’s first U.S.-assembled BEV will be powered by batteries from Toyota North Carolina. The new battery plant, which is currently under construction, […]

Part of larger energy services contract with Duke Energy Project also includes a 2-MW battery CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The Southeast’s largest floating solar plant will be producing power soon at the U.S. Army’s Fort Bragg in North Carolina after a major utility energy service contract with Duke Energy and its prime contractor Ameresco. The 1.1-megawatt […]

RALEIGH, N.C. (January 6, 2022) – North Carolina’s Electric Cooperatives today announces the planned installation of cutting-edge battery energy storage technology in 10 communities across rural North Carolina. The batteries will be sited at electric cooperative substations, adding local energy resources in communities for enhanced grid infrastructure resilience and reliability for co-op member-consumers.The batteries are being engineered and constructed […]

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (May 26, 2021) – Expanding its rapidly growing clean-energy portfolio, Duke Energy has begun construction on the 22.6-MW Speedway Solar power plant in Cabarrus County. The project will be owned and operated by Duke Energy Sustainable Solutions, a new commercial brand that includes Duke Energy Renewables. The project was selected as part of […]

A well-known chocolate maker has announced two new clean energy partnerships as the company continues to increase its sustainability efforts. The Hershey Co. on April 20 said it has power purchase agreements (PPAs) to take electricity from two solar projects, one in North Carolina and another in Texas. Hershey, like many corporate power customers, has […]

LUMBERTON, N.C. (February 9, 2021) — Active Energy Group plc (AEG)  announced it has secured new funding in the amount of $10 million while also converting all existing debt to equity. The new funding and clean balance sheet will allow the company to accelerate development of its revolutionary CoalSwitch production facility in Lumberton, North Carolina. CoalSwitch is […]

In a milestone settlement that could resolve Duke Energy’s “last remaining major issues” on coal ash management in North Carolina, the utility has agreed to absorb $1.1 billion in cleanup costs anticipated between 2015 and 2030.  The proposed settlement, which Duke Energy filed with the North Carolina Utilities Commission (NCUC) on Jan. 25, is a […]

The leader of North Carolina’s agency overseeing environmental issues in that state will be nominated to lead the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), POWER learned on Dec. 17. Michael Regan, 44, who previously worked at EPA and has served with the North Carolina Dept. of Environmental Quality (NCDEQ) since 2017, is expected to be nominated […]

Duke Energy will save about $1.5 billion in coal ash cleanup costs under a settlement between the utility and environmental and other groups announced Jan. 2 by North Carolina’s Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ). The DEQ said Duke Energy will need to excavate about 80 million tons of coal ash currently stored in basins at […]

Siemens has delivered its first-ever HL-class gas turbine to Duke Energy’s Lincoln County Combustion Turbine generation station, located near Denver, North Carolina. The HL-class gas turbine was derived from proven Siemens H-class technology in what the company calls “an evolutionary development step.” The advanced air-cooled gas turbine is a next-generation design that uses a series […]

Duke Energy on April 17 announced it will develop six utility-scale solar power projects in North Carolina, among 14 solar projects chosen as part of the state’s Competitive Procurement of Renewable Energy (CPRE) program. The 14 projects—10 in North Carolina and four in South Carolina—could cost as much as $772.5 million to build according to […]

North Carolina officials have ordered Duke Energy to excavate all its coal ash storage ponds in the state, saying the utility’s current plan for its coal ash sites does not sufficiently protect groundwater. The directive issued April 1 comes after regulators in other states, including Virginia, issued similar rulings regarding coal ash disposal in those […]

Depending on the deployment location and competing energy prices, photovoltaic solar panels are among the most cost-effective power solutions being added to the grid today, often without subsidies and other incentives. The revelation came during a panel discussion—which included several CEOs from the power sector—that took place at the Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) Summit […]

HOUSTON, 14 March 2019-Wood has secured a contract from Siemens to install a new Siemens HL-class gas turbine at a power generating station in North Carolina. The award will see Wood mobilize a team of around 400 people to the project site to deliver this notable construction project for a period of approximately 11 months. […]

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla., Jan. 2, 2019—The new year brought a new source of cleaner, more efficient power to the Carolinas, when four new communities began receiving power from NTE Energy. January 1 marked the beginning of 20-year power purchase agreements between NTE and the North Carolina communities of Concord and Kings Mountain, and the South […]

Lake Mary, Florida (August 28, 2018) — Officials from Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems Americas joined with NTE Energy executives today to mark the formal start of operations at a new North Carolina clean power plant featuring MHPS technology. MHPS executives helped cut the ribbon on NTE Energy’s $500 million Kings Mountain Energy Center (KMEC); located […]

WILMINGTON, North Carolina (May 22, 2018) — Global Nuclear Fuel (GNF) today announced that it has been awarded a long-term contract by Entergy Nuclear to continue to fuel its boiling water reactors. The new fuel supply contract, valued at more than $250 million, runs from 2019 through 2031 and includes 10 reloads of GNF3. Entergy […]

NTE Energy on May 21 inaugurated the new Middletown Energy Center in Middletown, Ohio, the latest in a series of natural gas-fired power plants the Florida-based company is developing in Ohio, Texas, and North and South Carolina. NTE touts the 525-MW Middletown combined cycle facility as among the most efficient gas-fired power plants in the […]

The U.S. Energy Information Administration’s (EIA’s) latest report on the nation’s power generation inventory expects 32 GW of new capacity will enter commercial service this year, the most in at least at decade. And for the first time in five years, renewable energy sources will not make up the majority of that new generation. Nearly […]

Third Project Constructed for NTE Energy GLASTONBURY, Conn.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Gemma Power Systems, LLC (GPS) has entered into an Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) services contract with NTE Carolinas II, LLC, an affiliate of NTE Energy, to construct a 475 MW state-of-the-art natural gas-fired power plant in Rockingham County, North Carolina. The NTE Reidsville Energy Center is […]

Amazon’s latest wind farm in coastal North Carolina has completed construction and is weeks from beginning operations—and state legislators have just asked the incoming Trump administration to shut it down. The $400 million, 208-MW, 104-turbine project, built by Apex Renewables near Elizabeth City and backed by financing from Iberdrola Renewables, is supposed to power Amazon’s […]

Duke Energy agreed to pay a $6 million fine under a new settlement reached with North Carolina’s Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) for the February 2014 coal ash spill at its Dan River power plant in Eden. State regulators fined the utility $6.8 million in February, but Duke Energy challenged the decision, which was the […]

North Carolina’s governor has vetoed a coal ash bill backed by Duke Energy that would have reinstated the recently dissolved Coal Ash Management Commission. Senate Bill 71 (SB71), introduced in February 2015, has passed both houses. Some media sources suggest that lawmakers have enough votes to override the veto. The bill seeks to re-establish the […]

First NC solar farms announced by Duke Energy Renewables in 2016 Duke Energy Renewables now owns 27 solar facilities in North Carolina, representing 280 MW and an investment of about $725 million since 2011 Duke Energy Renewables today announced it has acquired two 5-megawatt (MW) solar projects in Eastern North Carolina from ET Capital, a […]

The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (NCDEQ) issued a $6.6 million fine to Duke Energy on February 8 for environmental violations related to the February 2014 coal ash spill from the Dan River power plant near Eden, N.C. Although the fine is not insignificant, it pales in comparison to the $102 million the company […]

Duke Energy has settled a 15-year-old lawsuit for allegedly violating the Clean Air Act when it made modifications at 13 coal-fired power units in North Carolina.  The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) and the Department of Justice’s (DOJ’s) original case filed in 2000 focused on 25 Duke Energy coal units. As it has in more than […]

With plans already approved for the closure of 12 of its coal ash basins, Duke Energy on June 23 recommended the full excavation of 12 additional basins located in North Carolina. The company proposed excavating five basins each at its Cape Fear Plant in Moncure and its H.F. Lee Plant in Goldsboro. Additionally, it recommended […]