I am writing as a resident of Davidson County, Davie County, or the surrounding areas, to oppose Duke Energy’s plans to build massive methane gas-fired power plants in the heart of rural agricultural land on the Yadkin River. As a nearby resident, I do not want this type of mega-polluting fossil fuel infrastructure in my community. I oppose Duke Energy’s plan to overbuild fossil fuel infrastructure at the expense of our health, environment, safety, the Yadkin River and utility bills.

Duke Energy is considering Davidson and/or Davie County for the massive 1,360-megawatt methane gas fired power plants, as explained in Duke Energy’s long-term planning process, known as the Carbon Plan, they are planning to site two gas plants near each other. We are extremely concerned about the impacts this project would have on our community.

This project could increase our electric bills, even for customers of energy cooperatives because Duke Energy passes on the costs of gas plant construction and the cost of fuel to customers under a new North Carolina law, Session Law 2025-78 (SB 266). Utilities are overestimating electricity demand due to speculative data centers and other large projects that may not ever be built, not residential needs. Rising methane gas prices have accounted for more than 67% of residential rate increases in parts of Duke Energy’s NC service area. Additionally, new gas power plants can cause property values to drop by 5-6% on average within a 2-mile radius. This on top of higher electric bills, plus cuts to SNAP, healthcare benefits, and school funding, it’s simply too much for our community to bear.

Methane gas power plants emit high levels of health-compromising air pollutants, including nitrogen oxides (NOx), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and fine particulate matter (PM2.5). Exposure to high concentrations of these pollutants can cause or worsen asthma, respiratory infections, heart damage, shortness of breath; with long term exposure to PM2.5 leading to kidney disease, cardiovascular disease, increased risks of Alzheimer's and Parkinson’s, and premature birth and miscarriage.

The proposed gas plants could also hinder the progress of economic development. Certain parts of Davidson County are already close to surpassing federal air pollution limits. If the air pollution from these new gas plants pushes the area over these limits, it could prevent new industries that could bring more jobs than the gas plants from coming to this area. On average, depending on the size, one gas-fired power plant would likely only employ between 30-60 people, whereas a factory could bring as many as 500 jobs.

Duke Energy wants to build on the Yadkin River to utilize the water source for their cooling systems. Methane gas power plants can require large amounts of water. If Duke Energy uses air-cooled technology, as the utility is proposing for the third gas plant in this system (located in South Carolina), then one of these gas plants alone could require 600,000 gallons per day of water withdraw from the Yadkin River. 400,000 gallons might be discharged back into the river, with a net loss of 200,000 gallons per day from the Yadkin River basin. However, it’s important to note that the discharged water will be warmer and less biologically diverse. Known as “thermal pollution” when warmer water is discharged, water temperatures increase and dissolved oxygen levels are depleted, resulting in harm to the waterbody and aquatic ecosystem.

We, the residents of Davidson, Davie, and the surrounding counties should not have to shoulder the risks and impacts of these gas-fired power plants that have few if any benefits to residential customers. Our health, safety, and natural resources should not be put in jeopardy by unnecessary fossil fuel development. We deserve well-planned growth that prioritizes community wellbeing.