Duke Preps for Gas, Renewable Buildouts as Record Demand Looms

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Higher electricity rates, strong retail sales and a chilly winter were good news for Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) (Charlotte, North Carolina) in the first quarter of 2025, as the company prepared for what the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) expects will be record-high U.S. power demand in 2025 and 2026. The outlook affirms Duke's earlier decision to raise its five-year capital expenditure plan to $83 billion, largely in response to growing demand from the data-center and domestic manufacturing markets. Industrial Info is tracking more than $17 billion worth of active and proposed projects from Duke, more than 85% of which is attributed to power-generation projects.

Click on the image at right for a graph detailing Duke's active and proposed projects, by project type.

Duke reported net income of $1.37 billion for the first quarter of 2025, a 24% increase over the first quarter of 2024. Total operating revenues stood at $8.25 billion, a 7.5% increase over the same period last year. Both of the company's major segments reported stronger income: Electric Utilities and Infrastructure saw $1.28 billion, a 25% increase, while Gas Utilities and Infrastructure saw $349 million, a 22.9% increase.

Natural gas is expected to see more demand in the coming years than any other power-generation source, and Duke is responding with a major project in its home state: the replacement of two coal-fired units at its Roxboro Power Station in Semora, North Carolina, with natural gas-fired, combined cycle (NGCC) units. The project, currently slated to kick off in late 2026, would involve constructing a 2-on-1 combined-cycle configuration plant, designed to generate 1,360 megawatts (MW). Two coal-fired units would remain operational until 2035, when Duke is planning to complete further replacements.

Duke already is at work on a years-long ash landfill at the Roxboro plant, to comply with federal coal-combustion residual (CCR) laws by constructing and capping two ash ponds. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Power Project Database can read detailed project reports on the NGCC units and ash landfill, and learn more from a plant profile.

Duke also is seeking permits for its proposed Bailey Mill Renewable Energy Center in Monticello, Florida, on which it hopes to begin construction in mid-2026. The facility is designed to generate 75 MW from crystalline silicon photovoltaic (PV) panels for Florida's Jefferson County. Subscribers can learn more from a detailed project report.

While it maintains a strong role in the solar-energy market, more than 96% of Duke's clean-energy generation comes from its six nuclear plants, which supplied more than half of the electricity for Duke's customers in North and South Carolina in 2024. In late March, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) renewed the operating licenses for Duke's Oconee Nuclear Station for another 20 years. Subscribers can click here for a list of detailed profiles for Duke's nuclear plants, and learn more from Industrial Info's April 2, 2025, article - Duke Energy Gets Approval to Extend Operations at Oconee Nuclear Plant.

On the transmission and distribution (T&D) side, Duke expects to finish construction on several major projects in Florida this summer: a $40 million line from Auburndale to Lakeland, which runs 30 miles and is the last major stage of the Polk County Reliability Enhancement Project, and a $32 million line within Brooksville, which runs 16 miles. Duke also expects to finish construction on the $19 million Mondon Hill Substation in Brooksville around the same time, supporting the latter line. Subscribers can read detailed reports on the Auburndale-to-Lakeland line, Brooksville line and Brooksville substation.

Duke also recently started construction on a major T&D project in Indiana that is set to wrap up next year: a $12 million line from Westfield to Noblesville, which comprises two lines running a total of roughly five miles. It will be supported by a $12 million substation in Westfield. Subscribers can read detailed reports on the line and substation.

Subscribers to Industrial Info's GMI Project and Plant databases can click here for a full list of detailed reports for projects mentioned in this article, and click here for a full list of related plant profiles.

Subscribers can click here for a full list of detailed project reports for active and proposed projects from Duke.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) platform helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking more than 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 trillion (USD).