{"id":363,"date":"2026-06-09T14:36:06","date_gmt":"2026-06-09T14:36:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/northcarolinamovingjournal.com\/?p=363"},"modified":"2026-06-09T14:36:06","modified_gmt":"2026-06-09T14:36:06","slug":"trump-administration-grants-duke-energy-28-4m-for-nc-coal-plant","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/northcarolinamovingjournal.com\/?p=363","title":{"rendered":"Trump administration grants Duke Energy $28.4M for NC coal plant"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Trump administration is giving Duke Energy a $28.4 million grant to upgrade a coal plant in North Carolina.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more States Newsroom\u2019s Jonathan Shorman on voting rights, Trump and the GOP\u2019s efforts to cling to power<\/a><\/p>\n

Person County\u2019s Roxboro plant is one of 13 projects across the country selected to receive grant funding from the U.S. Department of Energy, the agency <\/span>announced<\/span> last week. It\u2019s intended to bolster domestic coal mining, support baseload power generation and improve energy infrastructure.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis funding supports previously planned critical upgrades that help ensure we can continue delivering reliable power to our North Carolina customers while keeping costs as low as possible,\u201d Kendal Bowman, president of Duke Energy\u2019s utility operations in North Carolina, said in a statement.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The grant signifies the administration\u2019s commitment to coal power, in which it\u2019s investing <\/span>$525 million<\/span> nationwide to streamline production. It also reaffirms the move away from clean energy sources like <\/span>wind<\/span> and <\/span>solar<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Dan Crawford, senior director for public affairs at the North Carolina League of Conservation Voters, said using taxpayer dollars to prop up coal is \u201cincredibly dumb and wasteful.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis follows a bigger payoff to kill clean wind in N.C., and shows the Trump administration only cares about rewarding oil, gas, coal and power companies, not helping ordinary working people struggling to pay their electric bills,\u201d Crawford told NC Newsline in a statement. \u201cWe should be building more solar and wind, which are cheap, fast and clean, not risking our health and making costs go up for North Carolinians.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cInstead of using taxpayer and ratepayer dollars to prop up aging, polluting coal plants like the 60-year-old Roxboro coal plant in a community already burdened with the toxic legacy of coal, Duke Energy should be pursuing clean, \u2018no-regrets\u2019 solutions like solar paired with battery storage,\u201d Southern Environmental Law Center senior attorney Munashe Magarira said.<\/p>\n

The DOE is using the 1950 Defense Production Act \u2014\u00a0a Cold War-era measure giving the president emergency authority to control domestic industries \u2014\u00a0to categorize the projects as crucial to national security.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more Amy Beros discusses the persistent hunger crisis that plagues central and eastern North Carolina<\/a><\/p>\n

Earlier this year, President Donald Trump <\/span>invoked<\/span> the Defense Production Act to strengthen energy production, transportation and infrastructure. He claimed the country\u2019s \u201caging and constrained\u201d electric grid poses an \u201cincreasing threat\u201d to national defense.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBy investing in both coal generation and critical export infrastructure \u2026 the Energy Department is strengthening U.S. energy security, reinforcing strategic supply chains, and advancing American energy dominance,\u201d U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright said in a statement.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Person County residents are already grappling with the building of a <\/span>natural gas pipeline<\/span> and a <\/span>massive data center<\/span> in their community.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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NC House lawmakers fast-track data center regulation bill<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n