Charlotte's economic future: The Energy Center (Gastonia, Greenville: city hall, live, shop)

[southbound_295]

Originally Posted by Carolina Blue

Aren't there plans for one of Duke's new nuclear facilites down that way somewhere too?

There's a coal-fired plant out just west of Boiling Springs, NC. I'm not sure if it's Duke. There's a power plant being constructed down by Grover, NC, but it's not nuclear & not Duke.

Where you might be getting that is the training facility in Kings Mountain. Read that link & keep scrolling down after it looks like the article is done. It tells what the training will be, & it's for the nuke plants.

[adavi215]

^I was just about to say that's what we're talking about. Needless to say, 2 years later and I don't hear much talk about the Energy Center. But we'll see. Progress merging with Duke gives it alot more leverage.

[southbound_295]

Originally Posted by adavi215

^I was just about to say that's what we're talking about. Needless to say, 2 years later and I don't hear much talk about the Energy Center. But we'll see. Progress merging with Duke gives it alot more leverage.

It's not playing out, as scripted. Also, I think that just about the last place that people would be expecting to see parts of these regional plans would be Kings Mountain. But there's land here & the officials are eager to get the jobs. There are educated people here, & it's not as far as some people think.

[adavi215]

Originally Posted by southbound_295

It's not playing out, as scripted. Also, I think that just about the last place that people would be expecting to see parts of these regional plans would be Kings Mountain. But there's land here & the officials are eager to get the jobs. There are educated people here, & it's not as far as some people think.

If Gaston were to play its cards right, it would do them well to get something of the sort built there. That would revitalize Gaston county back into a major NC area.
Did you know: Gaston County is one of the most densely populated counties in the state? More dense than Cumberland county.

[southbound_295]

Originally Posted by adavi215

If Gaston were to play its cards right, it would do them well to get something of the sort built there. That would revitalize Gaston county back into a major NC area.
Did you know: Gaston County is one of the most densely populated counties in the state? More dense than Cumberland county.

That doesn't surprise me.

I know that Gastonia is trying very hard to get things done. I'm not certain just what the Gaston County officials are doing.

[adavi215]

Originally Posted by southbound_295

That doesn't surprise me.

I know that Gastonia is trying very hard to get things done. I'm not certain just what the Gaston County officials are doing.

Gaston county has some nice towns in Belmont, Mount Holly, and Kings Mountain. An energy center would be a boost. Whatever the case, it needs to revitalize DT Gastonia, and move away from textiles.

[southbound_295]

Originally Posted by adavi215

Gaston county has some nice towns in Belmont, Mount Holly, and Kings Mountain. An energy center would be a boost. Whatever the case, it needs to revitalize DT Gastonia, and move away from textiles.

See the problem with the Gaston side of Kings Mountain is it's unincorporated. I think that that side will pick up when the city, which is in Cleveland County gets rolling a little more. That's one thing that I don't know. Can the city annex the Gaston side? Kings Mountain Township is in both counties, but the city is just in Cleveland County.

Belmont has managed to get itself fixed up. That's now spilling over into Cramerton. Gastonia has some stuff going on but it's fairly low-key.

Kings Mountain bottomed out when most of the remaining mills had to shut down when the banks refused to make operating loans after their bail out.

Parkdale has a 21 acre plot for sale in Gastonia. It's big enough to put a facet of something from the energy industry there. However, being privately owned, I don't know if it's being marketed or just for sale.

[Charlotte485]

Duke Energy To Announce Deal With China's ENN Group

WASHINGTON -(Dow Jones)- Duke Corp. (DUK) will announce an agreement with Chinese energy company ENN Group as part of a handful of energy deals being announced Tuesday between U.S. and Chinese companies, Duke Energy chief executive Jim Rogers told Dow Jones Newswires.
The deals, which also include a joint venture between GE Energy and China's Shenhua Group Corp., coincide with China President Hu Jintao's visit to the U.S.
In 2009, Duke Energy and ENN Group announced an agreement to develop commercial solar projects in the U.S.
Duke Energy's forthcoming announcement involves "a deal with ENN, someone who we've been partners with for a while," Rogers said. "It's really extending our relationship."

Read more: Duke Energy To Announce Deal With China's ENN Group - FoxBusiness.com

Not much news for Charlotte really; however, Duke working together with ENN is good that it puts Charlotte on ENN's radar when they expand in North America. I remember back before we knew what Project Cardinal was, there was speculation of ENN opening a North American HQ in Charlotte.

[Carolina Blue]

Originally Posted by southbound_295

There's a coal-fired plant out just west of Boiling Springs, NC. I'm not sure if it's Duke. There's a power plant being constructed down by Grover, NC, but it's not nuclear & not Duke.

Where you might be getting that is the training facility in Kings Mountain. Read that link & keep scrolling down after it looks like the article is done. It tells what the training will be, & it's for the nuke plants.

Actually I found it. Duke is planning to build the “Lee Nuclear Station” in Cherokee County, SC. That’s near Kings Moutain, right?

“…The company plans to build a two-unit nuclear plant near Gaffney, S.C…” Story: Duke-Progress leaders plan new nuclear plants - CharlotteObserver.com (http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2011/01/16/1983759/duke-progress-leaders-plan-new.html# - broken link)

[southbound_295]

Originally Posted by Carolina Blue

Actually I found it. Duke is planning to build the “Lee Nuclear Station” in Cherokee County, SC. That’s near Kings Moutain, right?

“…The company plans to build a two-unit nuclear plant near Gaffney, S.C…” Story: Duke-Progress leaders plan new nuclear plants - CharlotteObserver.com (http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2011/01/16/1983759/duke-progress-leaders-plan-new.html# - broken link)

Very interesting article. Thanks.

Gaffney is the midpoint between Kings Mountain & Spartanburg, so 20 miles.

Cherokee County is a huge problem here because of unemployment there. Many of the locals here have made comments about it, to me. I also know a young man from Blacksburg. Lack of jobs is so bad there that many of the people who do have jobs are commuting up into Gaston & Cleveland Counties, compounding the problems here. I suppose that some are going into Spartanburg.

Duke is the main wholesale supplier for electricity to City of Kings Mountain. It was in the Kings Mountain Herald that Duke is increasing their charge to the city by 7%, but the city is holding steady on the rates this year. The city is also starting to look at solar options.