Former Coal Site Adds Solar and Storage in Asheville
Duke Energy's Asheville Energy Complex now mixes gas, solar and batteries, a shift that could steady winter supply.
Updated on Nov. 5, 2026 in Energy
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Duke Energy has brought a new solar and battery storage facility into service at its Asheville Energy Complex in Asheville, N.C. The complex is transitioning from a coal-fired plant to a facility that uses natural gas, solar power, and battery storage, and it provides electricity to more than half a million homes in the region.
Why it matters
The shift away from coal and toward mixed generation with storage reflects how utilities are balancing emissions reductions with reliability as demand changes. Duke Energy is also preparing for higher winter electricity demand across western North Carolina, and having multiple energy sources gives the utility flexibility when fuel prices fluctuate.
The solar facility can generate enough electricity to power approximately 5,000 homes, and the natural gas portion has reduced emissions by approximately 60% since 2020 while operating more efficiently than the former coal plant. The source does not give battery capacity figures, so the storage contribution cannot be sized from the reporting.
The players
Duke Energy
A large U.S. electric utility operating generation, transmission and distribution systems across the Carolinas, now running a mixed portfolio of natural gas, solar and battery storage.
The details
Batteries store excess solar energy and surplus output from the combined cycle natural gas plant, which captures waste heat to generate additional electricity. That stored energy is then deployed onto the grid during the winter season, when demand is expected to rise. Duke Energy also uses smart self-healing technology, which automatically reroutes customers on an outage line to another line without crews manually switching power.
Timeline
Since 2020: natural gas portion emissions reduced by approximately 60%.
Winter 2026-27: stored battery energy deployed to the grid during the winter season.
The Tech Race
The Asheville project pairs solar generation with battery storage and a natural gas combined cycle plant at a former coal site. It positions Duke Energy within the broader push by utilities to combine variable renewables with storage for reliability.
Customers in Asheville and across western North Carolina are served by the complex, which now supplies more than half a million homes from a mix of gas, solar and storage. The smart self-healing technology means that during an outage, customers can be rerouted to another line without waiting for crews to switch power manually.
The takeaway
The Asheville conversion shows a coal-to-mixed-generation path that pairs gas, solar and storage at one site. Watch whether the stored battery energy is deployed to the grid as planned during winter 2026-27.
What happens next
Duke Energy's stored battery energy is scheduled to be deployed onto the grid during the winter 2026-27 season as demand rises.
Further reading
For more on how utilities are rebuilding their generation mix, see Energy coverage across the region.
Source note: This article includes information reported by WLOS.
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