States must take a critical eye to gas plants proposed over clean energy — SkimNews
Get the Energy newsletter
Daily energy & climate — solar, EVs, oil, the policy fights and tech bets shaping the transition. Free.
- Minnesota Power proposed large amounts of new gas generation, but Minnesota regulators directed the utility to explore less costly wind, solar and storage alternatives rather than gas plants that would run afoul of the state's carbon-free standard.
- Duke Energy's $584 million gas turbine was rejected by North Carolina regulators, who found that anticipated large-customer load projections did not justify the project, shifted excessive risk to residential ratepayers and left cheaper battery options inadequately examined.
- U.S. utilities reported plans for 24 GW of gas-plant capacity in 2025, a 570% increase from 2023, justified largely by projected data-center demand rather than current household and local-business needs.
- Gas-plant construction costs rose 66% and the time required to bring plants online grew 23% between 2023 and 2025, while wind and solar have been cheaper than gas in the U.S. for nearly a decade.
- Batteries are now cheaper than gas peaker plants globally, according to a recent study cited in the source.
- Duke Energy was found to have artificially capped energy storage and solar in its modeling to justify the need for new gas plants.
- Investor-owned utilities can recover approved project costs through customer rates before construction and operation, creating an incentive to keep building; if data-center projections fall short, ratepayers are left with 30 years of payments.
Why it matters: State regulators are testing who bears the cost of speculative data-center demand: North Carolina rejected a $584 million Duke Energy turbine, while Minnesota directed Minnesota Power toward wind, solar and storage. If forecasts fall short, ratepayers are left with 30 years of payments, making cheaper clean alternatives financially material.
Ask SkimNews
