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![]() by Staff Writers Charlotte NC (SPX) Jan 09, 2013
Three new power plants officially began serving North Carolina customers at the end of 2012, representing a combined investment of nearly $3.65 billion and marking another significant milestone in Duke Energy's commitment to meet electricity needs with advanced, cleaner generation. These sophisticated power plants represent one aspect of Duke Energy's aggressive strategy to make the transition to cleaner generation sources. In addition to investing nearly $6 billion in new plants since 2007 and retiring as much as 6,800 megawatts (MW) of older coal capacity, Duke Energy has invested another $7.5 billion for plant upgrades to reduce emissions across its service area. These investments have reduced the regulated fleet's emissions of sulfur dioxide by 74 percent and nitrogen oxides by 57 percent since 2005.
Cliffside Steam Station Unit 6 "Cliffside Unit 6 has one of the most stringent air quality permits in the country, and our emissions testing program has demonstrated that these sophisticated controls are performing very well," said Charlie Gates, senior vice president of Power Generation Operations. "This unit also has the flexibility to burn a wide range of coals with superior emissions removal, which allows us to purchase cost-effective coals and provide additional savings to customers while improving air quality." Duke Energy retired four 1940s-era coal units at Cliffside, totaling 198 MW, in October 2011 and committed to retiring another 1,469 MW of older coal generation in North Carolina associated with Cliffside Unit 6. As part of modernizing the entire Cliffside site, Duke Energy also added a scrubber to existing unit 5 in 2011. With the retirements and upgrades, the Cliffside site now generates more than twice the electricity with 80 percent less sulfur dioxide and half the nitrogen oxides and mercury than it did previously.
H.F. Lee Plant
Dan River Combined Cycle Station Duke Energy also retired all three older combustion turbines at the site this fall. Natural gas plants like these at H.F. Lee and Dan River have high efficiency and flexibility, while producing significantly lower emissions. "We continue to make great strides in transforming the way we serve customers, while maintaining affordability and reliability," Gates said. "Just as the lights in your home have changed, the electricity that powers them also is produced much differently today than just a few years ago. New technology will further advance that mission in the future."
Related Links Duke Energy
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