"Large grid batteries are finally coming to North Carolina, the nation’s fourth largest solar power producer."
"Mega-utility Duke Energy is about to knock down a coal plant that has run west of Charlotte, North Carolina, since 1957. Soon the company will build its largest grid battery on that spot, part of an unprecedented energy-storage construction spree.
The Allen Steam Station used to generate 1,155 megawatts of coal-fired electricity. But four of its five units have been shut down already, leaving just the last 167 megawatts online. Duke plans to shutter that last unit by the end of this month in favor of cleaner, more efficient power sources. At that point, only five coal plants will be left operating in the state, but they’re beefy enough to produce 8,400 megawatts collectively.
The retirement of a coal plant is not, in itself, surprising — that’s been happening across the country since the shale revolution made gas radically cheaper, and this shift has done a lot to clean up the power sector. Almost always, though, fossil gas plants have stepped in to provide on-demand power in place of the outgoing coal. This time, in a first for the region, Duke is investing in batteries to pick up some of the slack."
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