BELMONT, N.C. — By the end of 2024, the Allen Steam Station in Gaston County is retiring. The coal-fired plant has been generating power for the Charlotte area since 1957.
However, in recent years, the plant has slowed down. It no longer operates as a “baseload power source” or a power source that runs 24/7 at peak generation.
According to Jeff Flanagan, Duke Energy’s general manager of dispatchable generation for the western fleet, the station has been fired up 11 times so far this year, typically in expectation of high energy demand days.
What will happen to the plant?
The Allen Steam Station will be demolished by the end of 2028. Preparations for demolition have already begun. Duke Energy plans to take down the smokestacks first through a hydraulic process from the top down. The plant will not be imploded.
What will happen to the workers?
According to Duke Energy, there are about 45 employees who still work at the Allen Steam Station. All of them have either chosen to retire to accept other positions within Duke Energy.
How will we make power?
The Allen Steam Station currently only has one operating unit in service, which Duke Energy may fire up before the end of the year. Over the past several years, Duke Energy has built up its solar and natural gas portfolio at other sites.
In December, another natural gas turbine will be operational at the Lincoln gas plant facility that Flanagan said will replace the need for the remaining Allen plant capacity.
“It offers a lot of flexibility,” he said. “It can start fast, it can ramp fast it can increase load fast. Things that old coal units can’t do.”
In addition to the new gas turbine, Duke Energy plans to install utility-scale batteries on the Allen site after demolition. That will serve as energy storage for solar and nuclear power to help meet peak energy needs.
Why not build a new power plant on site?
The Allen Steam Plant site is the largest coal ash remediation site in the state and as a result, most of the property is dedicated to that remediation process. Duke Energy will excavate 19.8 million tons of ash currently in unlined basins and move it to four lined landfills on-site, at least five feet above the groundwater table. The process has a deadline of 2038 and will take up a significant portion of the property. Once the landfills are covered, Duke Energy said the utility does not currently have plans for construction on top of the fill sites. However, options are limited as any construction cannot pierce the lining on top of the landfills.
What are they doing about the coal ash now?
Until the ash is excavated, Duke Energy must keep it damp to prevent the ash from blowing offsite. The utility is also required to monitor and treat groundwater on-site for the next 30 years to mitigate damage from the unlined ash basins.