en.Wedoany.com Reported - Duke Energy may receive $28.4 million in federal taxpayer funds to upgrade two coal-fired power units in Person County, North Carolina. Residents in the area are also facing the impacts of a new natural gas plant, a pipeline, and a proposed Microsoft data center.
The Roxboro plant in Person County is one of 13 projects expected to receive grant funding from the U.S. Department of Energy. The agency cited the Cold War-era Defense Production Act to fund these projects, deeming them critical to national security. This is the latest move by the Trump administration to promote climate-damaging fossil fuels.
Under the agreement, Duke Energy will negotiate grant terms with the agency over the next six months, with implementation scheduled between 2027 and 2029. The utility will use $44 million in customer funds to match the federal funding.
According to a utility spokesperson, Duke Energy applied for the grant funding late last year to improve Units 2 and 3 through projects involving boiler fans, steam turbines, and coal mills at the plant. These units are planned to burn coal until their retirement on January 1, 2034.
"This funding supports previously planned critical upgrades, helping ensure we can continue to provide reliable electricity to our customers in North Carolina while keeping costs as low as possible," said Kendal Bowman, president of Duke Energy's North Carolina utility operations, in a prepared statement. "As our state continues to grow, investments like these help us meet increasing demand, support local communities, and maintain the reliable service our customers expect."
Units 1 and 4, which also burn coal, are scheduled to be phased out as two new natural gas plants come online by January 1, 2029.
The Roxboro plant, 60 years old, is located on the shores of Hyco Lake, 1.5 miles from an elementary school. In 2020, state environmental regulators required Duke Energy to excavate 17 million tons of coal ash stored in the plant's West Basin and two expansion ponds. The material is being transported to a double-lined landfill on site. Cleanup is expected to be completed by 2036.
Previously, unlined coal ash ponds leaked, contaminating some private drinking water wells near the facility. As part of a 2019 settlement between Duke Energy and environmental groups, the company provided alternative water sources to nearby residents.
"The Roxboro coal plant is the source of toxic coal ash that has contaminated well water throughout the community," said Steph Gans of Clean Water for North Carolina, an organization advocating for residents. "Using the Defense Production Act to allow Duke Energy to produce more coal ash while the EPA tries to weaken coal ash regulations does not keep Americans safe. It puts them in danger."
According to the utility, the grant will not change the retirement dates of the coal-fired power plant.
However, the North Carolina House of Representatives passed a bill this week requiring the state Utilities Commission to allow Duke Energy to operate coal and natural gas plants until it obtains the necessary certificate of public convenience and necessity for a large nuclear facility. Duke Energy has not publicly disclosed the location of that facility, although commission documents indicate it is planned to receive the certificate in 2028. This would be before the plants retire, but timelines may change, as nuclear plants are often delayed.
Critics say that although the bill is named the "Customer Protection Act," customers could face higher bills as fuel and construction costs rise. The measure could also allow Duke Energy to abandon its goal of achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. The bill has now been sent to the Senate.
Supporters of the bill, including Republican State Representative Dean Arp of Union County, say coal and natural gas are necessary for reliability. They cite Winter Storm Elliott in 2022, when multiple utilities in the eastern and southeastern United States, including Duke Energy, had to implement power cuts.
But the coal-fired Roxboro plant was one of the plants that failed, leading Duke Energy to impose unprecedented rolling blackouts on 500,000 customers on Christmas Eve. According to documents from the North Carolina Utilities Commission, frozen switches and sensors tripped pumps supplying water to the boiler. Several coal conveyor belts malfunctioned, though documents indicate the failure was not weather-related. According to a report from the North American Electric Reliability Corporation, the blackouts were not solely due to mechanical issues. The report stated that Duke Energy significantly underestimated demand and was unable to purchase power from other utilities, which needed it for their own customers. The automated software managing the blackouts also failed.
Meanwhile, Duke Energy, which earned $5 billion in profit last year, is requesting the Utilities Commission approve a rate increase of 15% to 18%. The commission has been holding public hearings, where hundreds of Duke Energy customers have testified about the financial burden of a $30 to $40 increase in their monthly electricity bills. The additional revenue would be used for distribution, transmission, and power plant projects, as well as legally required coal ash pond excavation and cleanup, including those at Roxboro.
Other projects near the Roxboro facility include Enbridge's T15 natural gas pipeline, supplying fuel to Duke Energy's new plant, and a proposed Microsoft data center on 1,300 acres purchased in Person County.
"During Duke Energy's rate increase hearings this year, customers repeatedly said they resent being charged for Duke Energy's coal ash cleanup," Gans said. "This action will extend those high costs into the future."
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