Marshall Steam plant aims for natural gas in Sherrills Ford

That opening in the woods surrounded by trees is where the company plans an expansion of its natural gas operations that would eventually eliminate the need for coal to provide power to roughly two million people in the Carolinas.

“If that happens, we won’t have all these rail cars coming in and unloading coal, which will be a little bit quieter for our neighbors, too,” Bill Norton said while giving a media tour of the plant earlier this month. Norton is a principal communications manager for Duke Energy Corporate Communications.

Duke officials said less coal means less coal ash, one of the by-products of burning coal.

Being a quiet and cleaner neighbor are two of the selling points the company brought forward in evidentiary hearings with the North Carolina Utilities Commission in Raleigh this week. Those begin a process for the power company’s plans to cease coal operations for the oldest two units at Marshall Steam Station by the end of 2028 and convert fully to natural gas at Marshall by 2031, pending NCUC approval.

“Ultimately it’s up to the North Carolina Utilities Commission, so I wouldn’t want to project whether they’ll approve it or not, ultimately it’s their call,” Norton said. “But in evaluating our long-range plan, the public staff, which is the customers’ advocate, agreed that natural gas was necessary to keep powering North Carolina’s economy. So when you have that additional assessment, and the support of local officials advocating for it, it’s a good message. It sends a good signal that this is needed for our robust economy.”

The hearings continue through Aug. 9 before resuming Sept. 3. Norton said that Duke Energy expects a ruling on its plans by the end of this year.

Natural gas is the present and future of the Marshall Steam Station, and coal is its present and past.

Natural gas, which produces fewer pollutants and carbon emissions than burning coal, can also power the existing coal units thanks to a conversion completed in 2020, according to Norton. The plant already switches between burning coal and natural gas depending on which is cheaper, though coal operations take more than 12 hours to get up and running compared to 10 to 15 minutes for natural gas at the proposed new facility.

It also doesn’t produce coal ash, of which 17.1 million tons have been buried around the Marshall Steam Station since it opened in 1964, according to Duke Energy documents.