Duke Energy Progress sees benefits from new North Carolina plant

Duke Energy Progress’ new Asheville Combined Cycle Station in Arden, N.C., is producing economic and environmental benefits for customers in the area.

The $817 million station, which partially opened last December and became fully operational in April, is producing 560 megawatts of renewable energy. It is Duke Energy’s most efficient plant in the Carolinas.

The new facility is 75 percent more efficient than the 1960s-era coal plant it replaced. Carbon dioxide emissions at the site have dropped by about 60 percent compared to the now-retired coal plant.

“Customers want cleaner, more reliable energy, and we’re committed to delivering on this expectation,” Kevin Murray, vice president of project management and construction, said. “By building the new Asheville station, we’re significantly reducing air emissions – including carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides – and continuing to move toward our companywide goal of cutting carbon dioxide emissions by 50 percent by 2030.”

The Asheville station’s four generators offer the latest technology. A heat recovery system captures and then reuses heat from the hot exhaust gases to make more energy, making it efficient. Two design features also give Duke Energy operators more flexibility to ensure reliability and meet customer demand. First, the station is designed with bypass stacks, allowing the combustion turbine generator to continue producing energy when the heat recovery steam generator or steam turbine generator needs maintenance. Second, if natural gas becomes unavailable, the station can burn diesel fuel, Duke Energy said.

The plant has also had significant economic benefits for the region. It created 1,300 construction jobs and generated approximately $145 million in work to suppliers of goods and services. It also generated $1.7 million in new property taxes for Buncombe County.

Duke Energy Progress is a subsidiary of Duke Energy and owns nuclear, coal, natural gas, renewables and hydroelectric generation. It’s investing more than $175 million in western North Carolina to upgrade power lines, electrical substations and other equipment and systems that move energy from power plants to customers. It is also investing $120 million for a solar plant and battery storage facility at the Asheville station. In addition, it is constructing a microgrid that includes a 2 megawatt solar plant and a 4 megawatt lithium-ion battery storage facility in Hot Springs.

Duke Energy Progress serves about approximately 1.6 million customers in North Carolina and South Carolina.