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Released August 20, 2025 | SUGAR LAND
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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)-- Duke Energy Corporation (Charlotte, North Carolina) has applied with federal regulators to extend the life of a South Carolina pumped-storage hydropower facility by another 50 years. The application with the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) joins other Duke relicensing endeavors in South Carolina.
The original operating license for Duke's Bad Creek pumped-storage plant in Oconee County began in 1977, although the plant didn't come online until 1991. Originally rated for 1,360 megawatts (MW), a series of uprates to the plant's four pumps from 2000 to 2024 added an additional 320 MW, bringing the plant's total generating capacity to 1,680 MW, enough to power 1.3 million homes, according to Duke, and rivalling some nuclear U.S. facilities in potential generation.
Pumped-storage hydropower plants operate as energy-storage devices in which water is held in an upper reservoir until needed and allowed to flow through turbines into a lower reservoir to generate power in times of higher demand. When power demand is low again, the water is pumped back to the upper reservoir in preparation for another generation cycle. Emphasizing the storage aspects of the plant, executives at Duke have referred to the plant as a "battery," as the company did in a recent press release announcing the relicensing application when it said, "For more than three decades, the pumped storage hydro station in South Carolina has performed a vital role as the largest 'battery' on the company's system."
In the case of Bad Creek, the upper reservoir was created by damming Bad Creek and West Bad Creek, and Lake Jocassee serves as the lower reservoir. The upper Bad Creek reservoir sits at an elevation of 2,310 feet, and the water flows through a 1-mile tunnel to Lake Jocassee, which is at 1,110 feet elevation.
Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Plant Database can click here for the plant profile.
Bad Creek joins other Duke relicensing applications for South Carolina power plants, one of which was approved earlier this year. South Carolina receives a majority of its electricity from nuclear power, which is produced at four operating plants, three of which are owned by Duke that account for about 5.6 gigawatts (GW) of generation capacity, with the fourth majority-owned by Dominion Energy Incorporated (Richmond, Virginia). Duke's other relicensing efforts involve these facilities.
Earlier this year, FERC approved Duke's 20-year relicensing application for the 2.5-GW Oconee nuclear plant in Seneca, Duke's largest nuclear facility, allowing two of the plant's three units to operate into 2053 and the third unit to July 2054. Shortly after the license extension was granted, Duke announced it had submitted another relicensing application for another of its nuclear facilities in the state, the Robinson plant near Hartsville. Commencing operations in 1971, in 2004 the Robinson plant was granted an initial relicensing period that allows it to operate until 2030; the application filed in April of this year would extend the plant's life to 2050. Duke previously successfully applied to extend the operating license of its third South Carolina nuclear facility, the Catawba plant, which was commissioned in 1985, allowing the plant to operate until late 2043. Subscribers can click to view the plant profiles of Oconee and Catawba plants. Subscribers can learn more by viewing their plant profiles.
With its nuclear plants potentially generating power for years to come and the further operations of the Bad Creek hydro plant under consderation, Duke easily cements its place as one of the South Carolina's largest power providers of years to come.
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) 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 over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 trillion (USD).
The original operating license for Duke's Bad Creek pumped-storage plant in Oconee County began in 1977, although the plant didn't come online until 1991. Originally rated for 1,360 megawatts (MW), a series of uprates to the plant's four pumps from 2000 to 2024 added an additional 320 MW, bringing the plant's total generating capacity to 1,680 MW, enough to power 1.3 million homes, according to Duke, and rivalling some nuclear U.S. facilities in potential generation.
Pumped-storage hydropower plants operate as energy-storage devices in which water is held in an upper reservoir until needed and allowed to flow through turbines into a lower reservoir to generate power in times of higher demand. When power demand is low again, the water is pumped back to the upper reservoir in preparation for another generation cycle. Emphasizing the storage aspects of the plant, executives at Duke have referred to the plant as a "battery," as the company did in a recent press release announcing the relicensing application when it said, "For more than three decades, the pumped storage hydro station in South Carolina has performed a vital role as the largest 'battery' on the company's system."
In the case of Bad Creek, the upper reservoir was created by damming Bad Creek and West Bad Creek, and Lake Jocassee serves as the lower reservoir. The upper Bad Creek reservoir sits at an elevation of 2,310 feet, and the water flows through a 1-mile tunnel to Lake Jocassee, which is at 1,110 feet elevation.
Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Plant Database can click here for the plant profile.
Bad Creek joins other Duke relicensing applications for South Carolina power plants, one of which was approved earlier this year. South Carolina receives a majority of its electricity from nuclear power, which is produced at four operating plants, three of which are owned by Duke that account for about 5.6 gigawatts (GW) of generation capacity, with the fourth majority-owned by Dominion Energy Incorporated (Richmond, Virginia). Duke's other relicensing efforts involve these facilities.
Earlier this year, FERC approved Duke's 20-year relicensing application for the 2.5-GW Oconee nuclear plant in Seneca, Duke's largest nuclear facility, allowing two of the plant's three units to operate into 2053 and the third unit to July 2054. Shortly after the license extension was granted, Duke announced it had submitted another relicensing application for another of its nuclear facilities in the state, the Robinson plant near Hartsville. Commencing operations in 1971, in 2004 the Robinson plant was granted an initial relicensing period that allows it to operate until 2030; the application filed in April of this year would extend the plant's life to 2050. Duke previously successfully applied to extend the operating license of its third South Carolina nuclear facility, the Catawba plant, which was commissioned in 1985, allowing the plant to operate until late 2043. Subscribers can click to view the plant profiles of Oconee and Catawba plants. Subscribers can learn more by viewing their plant profiles.
With its nuclear plants potentially generating power for years to come and the further operations of the Bad Creek hydro plant under consderation, Duke easily cements its place as one of the South Carolina's largest power providers of years to come.
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) 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 over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 trillion (USD).
