Today : Oct 03, 2025
Climate & Environment
03 October 2025

Duke Energy Extends Coal Use Amid AI Power Boom

The utility’s new plan delays coal plant retirements, expands gas and battery storage, and cuts renewables, reflecting national debates over powering AI-driven growth.

On October 1, 2025, Duke Energy unveiled its latest biennial Carbon Plan to the North Carolina Utilities Commission, laying out a vision for the state’s energy future that has quickly drawn both sharp criticism and fervent support. The plan, sprawling over 100 pages, signals a marked shift in the utility’s approach: coal-fired power plants will run for two to four years longer than previously promised, and the deployment of renewables will slow, even as battery storage is set to expand by 56 percent. These changes, Duke says, are necessary to keep up with surging electricity demand—fueled in large part by the rapid expansion of data centers and artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure across the state.

But that’s only the beginning of the story. The tug-of-war over how America—and North Carolina in particular—should power its AI-driven future has become a microcosm of a national debate, one that’s pitting fossil fuel advocates against renewable energy champions and raising questions about the very direction of U.S. energy policy.

According to Inside Climate News, Duke’s revised plan means that Belews Creek, a coal plant in Stokes County, will keep burning coal until 2040—four years longer than previously scheduled. In 2022, that single plant emitted a staggering 5.5 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent, a unit that captures the impact of various greenhouse gases. Units at the Cliffside and Marshall plants will also continue burning coal until at least 2033 and 2034, respectively. These plants, along with others in Duke’s fleet, are capable of burning both coal and natural gas, further increasing emissions of both carbon dioxide and methane—two of the most potent greenhouse gases contributing to climate change.

Why the extension? Duke points to a confluence of factors, including state and federal policy shifts. The Trump administration’s rollback of federal air regulations, renewed support for coal, and the elimination of renewable power subsidies have all played a part. More locally, the passage of Senate Bill 266 in July—following an override of Governor Josh Stein’s veto—scrapped the utility’s interim target of a 70 percent reduction in carbon emissions by 2035. Now, Duke is bound only to a net-zero goal by 2050, giving it more leeway to keep coal plants online in the near term.

“We continue making progress on coal retirements while balancing regulatory approvals and increased load growth,” said Duke Energy spokesman Bill Norton, as reported by Inside Climate News. “Regulators have made clear that replacement generation must be online and serving customers prior to further coal plant retirements.”

The plan also calls for a significant expansion of natural gas infrastructure, requiring more than 100 miles of new pipelines in North Carolina. This move, however, has raised alarms among environmental groups. Methane, the primary component of natural gas, is 86 times more potent than carbon dioxide at trapping heat over a 20-year period. Meech Carter, clean energy campaigns director for the North Carolina League of Conservation Voters Foundation, argued that these gas additions are “driven by the expansion of data centers and artificial intelligence, allowing big technology companies and Duke Energy to profit at ratepayers’ expense.”

And it’s not just North Carolina. Across the U.S., the fossil fuel industry and its allies have seized on the AI boom to argue that only coal, oil, and gas can provide the reliable, around-the-clock power needed for data centers. At the Gastech industry conference in Milan on September 10, U.S. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum declared, “The real existential threat right now is not one degree of climate change. It’s the fact that we could lose the AI arms race if we don’t have enough power.” Energy Secretary Chris Wright echoed those sentiments, insisting that gas, coal, and oil are “the three fastest-growing energy sources” and necessary to win what’s being framed as a technological and national security competition with China.

This narrative has been amplified by industry-funded think tanks such as the Texas Public Policy Foundation (TPPF) and its National Center for Energy Analytics (NCEA), led by Mark P. Mills. Mills testified before Congress in spring 2025, asserting that “most of the new power will come from natural gas combustion turbines and engines. Those can and are being built rapidly.” The Heartland Institute, another group with deep industry ties, has published op-eds claiming that AI is “incompatible with anti-fossil energy activism.”

Yet, many experts say these claims simply don’t hold up. According to DeSmog, renewable energy sources like solar and wind are now the fastest-growing sources of electricity in the U.S. and globally, together providing 15 percent of the world’s electricity in 2024. In Texas, renewables have jumped from 10 percent to nearly 40 percent of the state’s energy mix over the past decade—even as the grid itself has grown rapidly. “The idea that AI simply requires natural gas and nothing else, that renewables cannot be used, is absolutely false,” said Safak Yucel, a sustainable business operations expert at Georgetown University.

Renewables, experts argue, are not only cheaper but increasingly reliable, especially when paired with battery storage. Ninety-five percent of projects seeking to join the national grid are renewable, according to Caitlin Marquis, managing director at Advanced Energy United. And while industry groups like the Consumer Energy Alliance (CEA) continue to question renewables’ reliability, real-world data tells a different story. During the 2021 Texas grid failure, for example, renewables outperformed fossil fuel sources, and in the summer of 2024, solar kept the lights on during record demand, as reported by the National Renewable Energy Lab.

Still, Duke’s new plan is moving forward. The utility has scaled back its solar ambitions, now aiming to add 7,900 megawatts by 2033 instead of 8,200 by 2031, and has eliminated wind power from its mix until at least 2040. The Trump administration’s recent cancellation of $679 million in federal funding for offshore wind projects—including over $39 million for a wind logistics port in Norfolk, Virginia—has further dampened prospects for wind energy in the region.

Meanwhile, Duke is seeking permission from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to boost output and extend licenses for its existing nuclear plants, another pillar of its long-term strategy. The Allen Steam Station, retired last year, will see its first battery storage facility go online next month, marking a small but significant step toward grid modernization.

Environmental advocates remain deeply concerned. CleanAIRE NC, a nonprofit based in Charlotte, issued a statement decrying Duke’s plan for prioritizing fossil fuel expansion, delaying coal retirement, and failing to engage with communities most vulnerable to environmental and economic harm.

Ultimately, the fate of Duke’s Carbon Plan rests with the North Carolina Utilities Commission, which must approve or amend the proposal by December 31, 2026, after a lengthy public hearing process. The outcome will shape not only the state’s energy mix but also the broader national conversation about how best to power America’s digital future—one that’s increasingly defined by the twin imperatives of technological innovation and climate responsibility.

As the debate rages on, one thing is clear: the choices made today will reverberate for decades, determining not just who wins the AI race, but at what cost to the environment and future generations.