Duke Energy aims to replace coal plants with gas-powered by 2035

The massive spill and a $1 billion lawsuit settlement is forcing the utility company to clean up and close its coal ash storage pits, including a pit in Person County, the closest coal ash pit to Raleigh.

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WRAL News on Thursday toured the Roxboro power plant and coal ash pit, where Duke Energy aims to replace the coal-fired plant with two natural gas-powered plants in the next 15 years.

When coal is burned to create power, dusty coal ash is left behind. Historically, the coal ash was stored in two coal ash basins at Duke Energy's Roxboro power plant.

The Feb. 2, 2014, spill occurred at a different Duke Energy plant in Eden, N.C., when a corrugated metal pipe underneath an unlined pit spewed roughly 39,000 tons of toxin-laden ash into the Dan River, distributing ash over a 70-mile stretch of stream bed that reaches north from North Carolina, loops into Virginia and then dips back down into North Carolina.

"Dan River was an accident, and we took it seriously," Norton said. "It was a learning experience for us, and we resolve to be better for it."

Now the coal ash is stored in lined landfills.

"That was the best practice decades ago when these plants were built. We now have safer practices," Norton said.

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Currently, 2 million tons of coal ash from the Roxboro coal ash basins sit in a double-lined landfill at the site. According to Norton, there are 15.2 million tons of coal ash remaining, plus the ash that continues to pile up from the coal-fired power plant.

To transition to cleaner energy, Duke Energy plans to close the Roxboro plant and replace it with two natural gas-fueled plants by 2035.

"Ultimately, our transition to natural gas will eliminate 250,000 tons of new coal ash produced each year," Norton said. "We plan to be out of coal by 2035."

"We’re now working on what will replace it," Norton said. "It will be a mix of new nuclear, hydrogen capable natural gas, solar, wind, storage ... we need as much as we can get to power North Carolina’s economy."

Norton said Duke Energy will need to balance reliability and affordability while getting cleaner.

If state regulators approve the new plants, Duke Energy plans for them to be running by 2028 and 2030. The coal-powered plant at the same site would close three years later.

The Environmental Defense Fund, a nonprofit, is calling on state regulators to require Duke Energy to control costs for its customers.

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Duke Energy has announced it will spread out increased costs over time, providing customers with more predictable rates so they can plan ahead as opposed to dealing with large increases.