CHARLOTTE — Duke Energy has filed its 2025 Carolinas Resource Plan, detailing how the utility intends to power record economic growth in North Carolina while keeping costs of implementing the plan below inflation.
The biennial filing with the North Carolina Utilities Commission projects average annual bill increases of about 2.1% over the next decade, less than inflation and far lower than costs forecast in the company’s prior plan.
“North Carolina is the top state for business, and our focus is on ensuring Duke Energy’s low energy rates continue to support this region’s economic success,” said Kendal Bowman, Duke Energy’s North Carolina president.
The plan calls for new natural gas units in Person, Catawba, Rowan and Richmond counties, expanded battery storage at sites including the Mayo Plant in Person County, and next-generation nuclear at Belews Creek in Stokes County. Duke is also targeting 4,000 megawatts of solar by 2034, while continuing its phased exit from coal.
Electricity demand in North Carolina and South Carolina is growing at eight times the pace of the prior 15 years, fueled by manufacturing projects that have brought more than $19 billion in investment and 25,000 new jobs to North Carolina in 2025 alone. Duke said the resource plan is meant to keep the state competitive by ensuring reliable power for industry and residents alike.
The North Carolina Utilities Commission will hold hearings on the resource plan in 2026 – dates are still to be determined – and issue an order by Dec. 31, 2026. Later this year, Duke Energy will also file a resource plan update with the Public Service Commission of South Carolina, incorporating information from the 2025 Carolinas Resource Plan.
North Carolina projects
The plan’s footprint stretches across the state:
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Person County would host two combined-cycle natural gas plants supporting heavy manufacturing growth in the Triangle and central Piedmont.
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Catawba and Rowan counties are targeted for new combustion turbines to handle peak demand, adding flexible generation capacity along the I-85 corridor.
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Richmond County could see another turbine, reinforcing a long-standing hub of power production in southeastern North Carolina.
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Belews Creek in Stokes County remains a candidate for small modular nuclear reactors, positioning the site for one of the first next-generation nuclear projects in the Southeast. Alternatively, Duke is considering large light water reactors at its Cherokee County site in South Carolina. Proceeding at either site would represent the plan’s largest investment.
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Mayo Plant in Person County is one of several sites listed for large-scale battery storage, part of a 5,600-megawatt buildout across the Carolinas.
Duke also highlighted upgrades already under way: 300 megawatts of new nuclear capacity added through efficiency uprates at existing reactors, and a 280-megawatt boost at the Bad Creek pumped storage hydro station, which supplies both Carolinas.
Growth pressures
Electricity demand across North Carolina and South Carolina is rising at a pace eight times faster than the prior 15 years. New projects announced in North Carolina this year alone have topped $19 billion in investment tied to more than 25,000 jobs, much of it in manufacturing.
That growth has already outpaced the forecast filed just two years ago. Duke says the plan is designed to keep the state competitive by ensuring reliable and affordable power for both new industry and residents.
Energy transition
While natural gas and nuclear anchor the new plan, Duke is also targeting 4,000 megawatts of solar by 2034, with sites to be determined through competitive bidding. Battery storage, meanwhile, is nearly doubling from the prior plan to meet near-term growth and take advantage of federal tax credits.
Coal plants at Belews Creek, Cliffside and Marshall could see their lives extended briefly under new federal rules, but Duke said it is maintaining a phased exit from coal.
Next steps
The plan builds on the 2023 filing approved last year and dovetails with Duke’s request to combine its two North Carolina utilities into one system. That merger, if approved, could save more than $1 billion by avoiding duplicate infrastructure.
South Carolina regulators will receive their own version of the plan later this year, followed by public hearings in both states in 2026.
