Coal plants to be evaluated for gas, nuclear generation, battery storage

"One of the things I said was Person County is as much a part of Duke Energy as Duke Energy is Person County," Evans said Thursday. "Yesterday, we were able to share with our employees at our Roxboro and Mayo facilities a little more clarity on our future plans here for Person County."

Evans said the company informed its local employees that the Roxboro and Mayo plants are being evaluated for future generation, specifically natural gas, small modular nuclear reactors and battery storage.

"What you'll see over the next few years and over the next few months is the initial process of evaluating those sites," Evans said. "While we're really excited about this type of clarity, what it doesn't mean is that we're announcing that we're going to start building these plants because there's so much that has to happen before then."

Among the steps the company will take will be soil testing and filing for necessary permits, Evans said.

The news has been shared with local elected officials and other stakeholders, according to Evans.

"You know how important our coal plants are here in the county and across the state for reliability, Evans said. "It is important to us to replace that generation and, when we can, we want to do it in the communities where we are already."

Duke Energy's work comes on the back of the North Carolina Utilities Commission's initial Carbon Plan, which was adopted Dec. 30.

The plan is designed to meet the requirements of state House Bill 951.

The bill was signed into law in 2021 and requires Duke Energy to achieve a 70-percent reduction in carbon dioxide emissions from its electric-generating facilities in North Carolina from 2005 levels by 2030 and carbon dioxide neutrality by the year 2050 while maintaining or improving the reliability of the electric system.

Under the plan, the lone generation unit at the Mayo Plant will be retired in 2029 alongside units 1 and 2 at the Roxboro Plant on Hyco Lake.

The retirement date for units 3 and 4 at the Roxboro Plant vary and may be retired as early as 2028 or as late as 2034.

Evans said there are four factors the company will examine as part of its decisions on locating future generation.

"We look at available workforce. We look at existing infrastructure. We look at available land. And we look at a supportive community," Evans said Thursday. "I feel like we have that in spades here in Person County and I hope we will continue to do that. I hope we can all work together to support this generation. There's a lot more to come and we are going to work very closely with our community leaders and our neighbors and the rest of you all to understand the next steps and how you can support this moving forward."