Dive Brief:
- Duke Energy Carolinas has announced it will build and operate a 750 MW combined cycle natural gas-fired plant. The North Carolina Electric Membership Corporation will own 100 MW.
- The plant will be sited at the utility's existing William S. Lee Steam Station, already the site of 370 MW of coal-fired generation, in Anderson County, South Carolina.
- Duke obtained regulatory approval for the plans in April and anticipates construction to begin mid-2015 with the plant to come online in late 2017.
Dive Insight:
The project is part of Duke Energy's plans to move away from coal to natural gas.
By using the Lee site, Duke Energy "will be able to leverage existing site infrastructure to minimize new generation project costs and impacts to the community and environment," said Clark Gillespy, president of Duke's South Carolina operations. "Natural gas-fired combined cycle plants are a good match to meet the significant energy needs of our customers over the next 15 years, and are expected to be an important part of the future Duke Energy Carolinas generation portfolio."
