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Duke Energy works on plan to phase out coal, reduce carbon emissions

Duke Energy's Belews Creek Steam Station Plant uses both coal and natural gas to produce electricity. This photo was taken at the plant's site in Stokes County, North Carolina. KERI BROWN/WFDD

Duke Energy says it's on track to stop generating electricity with coal by 2035. That includes the Belews Creek site in Stokes County, one of its largest plants.

The company says it plans to double its renewable energy portfolio by the end of the decade. The shift from coal will help the company meet internal climate goals and state mandates to reduce carbon emissions.

Last October, Gov. Cooper signed North Carolina's new clean energy legislation, or House Bill 951. The bipartisan law requires the state utilities commission to take steps needed to achieve a 70 percent carbon reduction from public utilities by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2050.

The process also calls for public stakeholder meetings. Duke Energy held one in January and will hold another later this month to discuss its clean energy plan. The state would have to give final approval.

So far, the company says it has retired 56 coal units. Duke Energy spokesman Bill Norton says they are working on a timeline for when coal will be completely phased out at the Belews Creek Plant.

"Between the stakeholder input and what the North Carolina Utilities Commission ultimately decides, the retirement could be sooner, it could be later strictly on natural gas, but we know we will cease use of coal there by 2035,” says Norton.

Beginning in 2020, natural gas was added to the Belews Creek site.

The coal ash basin there has been closed and cleanup continues.

Follow WFDD's Keri Brown on Twitter @kerib_news

Keri Brown is a multi-award winning reporter and host at 88.5 WFDD. She has been honored with two regional Edward R. Murrow awards for her stories about coal ash, and was named the 2015 radio reporter of the year by the Radio Television Digital News Association of the Carolinas (RTDNAC).Although she covers a variety of topics, her beats are environmental and education reporting.Keri comes to the Triad from West Virginia Public Broadcasting, where she served as the Chief Bureau Reporter for the Northern Panhandle. She produced stories for the state's Public Television and Radio programs and was honored by the West Virginia Associated Press Broadcasters Association for her feature and enterprise reporting.She also served as an adjunct instructor at Wheeling Jesuit University and Bethany College in West Virginia. She worked with the Center for Educational Technologies in Wheeling, WV, and other NASA centers across the country to develop several stories about the use of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) concepts in the classroom.Keri's journalism career began at WTRF-TV 7 in Wheeling. She worked in several roles at the station, including the head assignment editor. She also was a field producer and assignment manager at WPGH-TV Fox 53 in Pittsburgh.Keri is a graduate of Ohio University. When she's not in the studio or working on a story, she enjoys watching college football with her family, cooking, and traveling.Keri is always looking for another great story idea, so please share them with her. You can follow her on Twitter @kerib_news.

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