Duke Energy plan will delay coal retirements and study more nuclear plants
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Duke Energy Plaza in Charlotte. Photo: Alexandria Sands/Axios
Duke Energy plans to meet surging demand for energy in the Carolinas by increasing its natural gas capacity, delaying the closures of some coal plants and evaluating two sites for nuclear power, according to a new plan filed with the state.
- At the same time, however, the rate at which it plans to acquire more solar energy capacity is slowing, and it has shelved plans for offshore wind at least through 2040.
Why it matters: Duke is seeking to balance a surge in demand for energy with a measured response to new federal and state policy. But some environmental groups are criticizing the Charlotte-based utility for moving away from a low-carbon energy mix.
Driving the news: This is the first carbon reduction plan that Duke Energy has filed with the state's utility commission since the N.C. General Assembly passed a law that eliminated the requirement that Duke reduce carbon emissions by 70% by 2030.
- It also comes as electricity demand is growing due largely to a rise in data centers and manufacturing. Duke's own projections put energy demand 7% higher in 2035 than it forecasted last year.
Between the lines: Duke Energy is required to file a carbon plan with the state periodically so that regulators can monitor how the utility plans to reach carbon neutrality.
- A bipartisan law passed in 2021 mandates that Duke hit neutrality by 2050, with the caveat that it does so as cheaply as possible while maintaining reliability.
- To that point, Duke Energy says the new plan is projected to raise customer bills 2.1% a year over the next decade — lower than the previous plan.
- A Duke spokesperson later told Axios that the 2.1% is just the cost to implement the plan, and that other factors independent of the plan affect customer rates.
What they're saying: Gov. Josh Stein criticized Duke Energy in a statement for "retreating from the state's clean energy future."
- "Duke has eliminated wind, reduced solar and delayed nuclear while increasing our dependence on price-volatile natural gas and coal," Stein says, calling on the utilities commission to "require significant changes."
Zoom in: Here's what Duke's plan calls for:
- Natural gas: More than 9,650 additional megawatts of natural gas capacity by 2033, including two more combustion turbines.
- Nuclear: Duke says it is evaluating two potential sites for new nuclear reactors (one in Belews Creek, N.C., and Cherokee County, S.C.) with the hopes of adding more than 1,100 additional megawatts of nuclear energy by 2037. The goal is to secure an early site permit at Belews Creek this year, Kendal Bowman, Duke Energy's North Carolina president, told Axios.
- Solar: Increase solar capacity to 7,900 megawatts by 2033, though that is a decrease from a previous plan that called for 8,200 megawatts by 2031.
- Wind: Plans for offshore and onshore wind have been shelved, after a previous plan called for 3,600 megawatts of wind energy by 2035.
- Coal: The Duke plan also calls for delaying the closures of three coal-fired plants (Belews Creek, Cliffside and Marshall) that were previously set to retire in the mid-2030s.
- Battery storage: Investments into battery storage technology are increasing to 7,900 megawatts by 2033.
The other side: Clean energy groups criticized Duke Energy for taking a step back from solar and wind, and for not investing more in battery storage, energy-efficient technologies and grid flexibility.
- Josh Brooks, a strategist at the North Carolina Sustainable Energy Association, tells Axios he questions the strategy of "doubling down on gas, when it's already causing rates to rise."
- Meanwhile, the Sierra Club, in a statement, said the decision to keep relying on coal plants is "disappointing and unsettling." And Vote Solar's statement says "higher costs for families, more pollution in local communities and a worsening climate crisis" will result.
Yes, but: Duke Energy's new investments in storage, Brooks says, are "promising to see," even though he thinks more work on the demand side of the grid is urgently needed.
- Peter Toomey, an executive at Cypress Creek Renewables, which partners with Duke on solar and storage projects, says the new commitment "demonstrates the forward-looking leadership needed."
State of play: Duke Energy says its new plan responds to changes in government policies, with the Trump administration's One Big Beautiful Bill Act taking away tax credits for solar and wind but adding incentives for nuclear power and battery storage.
- The state has also given it more flexibility to use coal, and it is taking that opportunity.
- "Those all have impacts on our plan to power this robust growth with focus on reliability," Glen Snider, Duke Energy's managing director of integrated resource planning, tells Axios.
What's next: The N.C. Utilities Commission will take comments on Duke Energy's plan for the next few months, before making a ruling on Duke's plan next year.
Editor's note: This story has been updated with further details from Duke Energy about customer bills.