Duke Energy today said it would retire its coal-fired power plant in Asheville, N.C., and replace it with a new, $750 million natural gas-fired plant. Duke said in a news release the 650-megawatt natural gas plant would cut carbon dioxide emissions by 60% and would be 35% less expensive to operate.
The company’s Asheville service area has doubled in the past four decades and is expected to grow by 15% in the next decade. The new plant is expected to start up by the end of 2019. Duke Executive Vice President Lloyd Yates called the plan a ‘win-win-win for consumers, the environment and the economy.’
Many believe the Obama Administration’s recently proposed rules to curb carbon emissions from power plants will bring an end to coal-fired power generation in the U.S.
MORE NATURAL GAS NEWS: Cheniere Energy OKs construction of Corpus Christi LNG
