Arden, North Carolina: Duke Energy Lake Julian Plant Converting from Coal to Natural Gas and Solar Energy (Charlotte: 2015)

[Carolina Knight]

Duke Energy is investing $1 billion to convert its Lake Julian coal plant to natural gas and solar power. The investment will create 800 construction jobs. The conversion should be completed by the end of 2019.

Further reading:
"One Billion Dollar Coal Plant Conversion to Create 800 Jobs." Hendersonville Lightning. 2015-05-19.

[DLM2000]

I am not a scientist or an engineer nor am I claiming to be even remotely educated on the topic of energy production. But.... just as a thinking person, the idea of making electricity from natural gas seems to be a deal with the devil. Coal burning is unquestionably bad on many levels. But is using natural gas any better? That end process, however it's done, may make electricity very efficiently - I have no clue about that. But getting/harvesting that natural gas in order to make the electricity will no doubt involve fracking and we know just the tip of the iceburg about environmental fallout from fracking. Frying pan - fire is my fear.

[southbound_295]

Originally Posted by Carolina Knight

Duke Energy is investing $1 billion to convert its Lake Julian coal plant to natural gas and solar power. The investment will create 800 construction jobs. The conversion should be completed by the end of 2019.

Further reading:
"One Billion Dollar Coal Plant Conversion to Create 800 Jobs." Hendersonville Lightning. 2015-05-19.

I heard about this on the news & had to chuckle. This is not happening in a vacuum.

NTE, a company out of Florida, will be breaking ground within the next two months on a natural gas powered power plant off exit 5 of I 85 in Kings Mountain. Kings Mountain & Concord will be severing ties with Duke. No word yet about several other towns in the area. This could get ugly for Duke just outside of Charlotte where their headquarters are.

Add to that the coal-ash mess. . .

There must be a pipeline for them to tap into.

[mlhm5]

Where will they put the solar ash pits. Near the lake.