Lake Norman neighbors say ‘no’ to proposed Duke Energy gas plant near their homes

At least 60 Lake Norman neighbors have emailed state regulators urging them to reject Duke Energy’s plans for two natural gas turbines off their curvy, tree-draped, two-lane Catawba County road.

Residents along Island Point Road in Sherrills Ford have peppered the North Carolina Utilities Commission in recent months with emails of concern about emissions, noise and construction traffic, according to a Charlotte Observer review of emails from the public in the case.

The proposed combustion turbines would replace two coal-fired units at Duke Energy’s Marshall Steam Station, which opened in 1965 as a coal-burning power plant along N.C. 150 in Terrell on the lake.

The turbines would be on 20 acres of Marshall property, about 1.25 miles northeast of the coal units, company spokesperson Bill Norton said. A natural gas pipeline used by the current units would serve the turbines, he said. The current units can operate by burning coal or natural gas to generate electricity.

The utility proposed the natural gas turbines in a 2023 update to its carbon dioxide reduction plan, The (Raleigh) News & Observer previously reported.

Duke Energy says it needs the turbines to maintain reliability while eliminating coal generation, the N&O reported, while critics say the new turbines would also release unnecessary greenhouses gases.

Regulators with the N.C. Utilities Commission would have to approve a certificate of public convenience and necessity for the turbines, and Duke would need an air quality permit from the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality.

Why here? residents ask

The turbines would generate power in a far cleaner, more efficient way than the two retiring coal units, Norton said.

Nitrogen oxide emissions will be reduced by 82% and sulfur dioxide by 92%, he said.

“As we did at the existing coal plant, we will use the best available technology to reduce emissions,” Norton said. ”We will meet all state and federal regulations to ensure surrounding neighbors and the environment remain protected.”

Duke Energy officials responded to residents’ concerns at a June 19 meeting of the Northview Harbour Homeowners Association. Northview Harbour is a 290-home community off Island Point Road near the lake and the planned entrance to the proposed plant.

A map in a Duke Energy fact sheet distributed to residents shows “the massive amount of forested buffer remaining between the plant and neighborhood,” Norton said.

Northview Harbour resident Joe Goode told The Charlotte Observer on Friday that he and his neighbors understand Duke Energy’s need to leave coal. Like everyone else, he and his wife, Jodi, were fully aware of Marshall Steam Station when the couple moved to the subdivision four years ago, he said.

“We just didn’t expect to have this brought to our front door,” the recent retiree said.

Concern for children

In her June 21 email to the N.C. Utilities Commission, Jodi Goode also cited another safety concern mentioned by many other residents in their emails: children.

Cars back up at the light at Sherrills Ford Road and Island Point Road each morning and afternoon when parents drop off and pick up their kids at Sherrills Ford Elementary School, they said.

“Adding this Duke plant will make this intersection a dangerous nightmare to maneuver,” Jodi Goode said in her email. “Why they would put a plant that will emit methane and nitrogen oxide so close to a school and residents is unconscionable.”

Residents also expressed concerns about evacuating during a plant emergency. Their neighborhoods are farther down Island Point Road from the proposed entrance to the plant, and Island Point is a one-way-in and one-way-out road, they said. The road begins at Sherrills Ford Road and ends at the lake.

Danica Martens and Dustin Henis told the commission they fear that the quiet of their Northview Harbour neighborhood “will not continue to be the case.”

Response to noise, evacuation concerns

Traffic will increase during construction of the plant, Norton said, but Duke will deliver its heaviest loads to the plant by railway and take other steps to lessen traffic.

“We will try to reduce the traffic as much as humanly possible,” Jeff Flanagan, Marshall Steam Station general manager, said in an interview with the Observer on Wednesday.

Norton said once the coal plant is retired and demolished, “plant traffic will be lower than existing levels, and we will no longer need to bring in coal by rail to the site.”

The North Carolina Department of Transportation would need to approve the entrance to the plant, he said.

“While the exact location hasn’t been determined yet, wherever the final entrance is located, the company will install a turn lane to help with traffic management,” Norton said.

Regarding evacuation concerns, Norton said Duke does environmental monitoring around Marshall “to ensure neighbors and the environment aren’t adversely impacted by our operations.”

Responding to residents’ concerns about 24-7 noise from the turbines, Norton said construction sounds “will be similar to the level of existing plant activity.”

Duke’s certificate of public convenience and necessity filing includes “an extensive sound study with many data points,” Norton said.

Company officials shared the key finding of the study at the June 19 HOA meeting, he said: “Even the closest neighbor to the proposed plant would hear only a small increase over existing plant noise, and the noise will have no impact on human or animal health.”

Duke also will leave “significant tree buffer” between neighbors and the plant, he said.

Power production

The turbines would generate enough electricity — 850 megawatts — to power around 700,000 homes, Norton told The Charlotte Observer.

The Marshall coal units planned for retirement produce 760 megawatts, Norton said. The excess capacity from the turbines will help meet “significant growth in the area,” he said.

The turbines also will be “the most efficient in our fleet,” Norton said, reaching full load in about 10 to 15 minutes, compared with 12-plus hours for the 60-year-old coal units.

With the turbines, Duke can better manage sudden drops in solar output, including during unexpected thunderstorms common in summer, Norton said.

Replacing Marshall’s coal units also “will avoid more than 100,000 tons of additional coal ash each year that would have to be stored in the on-site landfill,” he said.

“We are committed to reinvesting in our coal plant communities, providing local jobs and continued tax base for decades to come,” he said.

Business, government leaders want new plant

Along with Catawba County Manager Mary Furtado, leaders of the Catawba County Economic Development Corporation, The Chamber of Catawba County and Catawba Valley Community College emailed letters of support for Duke Energy’s plans to the N.C. Utilities Commission.

On Feb. 5, Catawba County commissioners approved a resolution supporting the project.

Charlotte growth has led to a “boon of residential development” in Catawba County, wrote Scott Millar, president of the Catawba County Economic Development Corporation.

Duke’s plan “is tremendously important in order to meet the needs of our community’s continued economic and population growth,” Millar wrote.

Timetable for new plant

If the commission approves the project in coming months, Duke plans to begin construction in late 2026 and have the units operating in 2028, Norton said.

That schedule would be ahead of the planned retirement of Marshall coal units 1 and 2 by the end of 2028, he said.

“For reliability, the new generation must be online and serving customers before the coal units retire,” Norton said.

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