North Carolina regulators deny Duke Energy's $584M gas turbine, citing unreliable data center forecasts
The Utilities Commission rejected a 255 MW hydrogen-capable turbine at Duke's Smith Energy Complex, calling the projected data center load "insufficiently reliable." It also found Duke had not shown how much of the plant would serve data centers, so it could not confirm costs would not shift to other customers.
Why it matters
Regulators are refusing to build generation on speculative demand, so developers will need firm commitments to get capacity built.
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