20th largest plant in North Carolina · 503rd nationally
Buck is a natural gas power plant in North Carolina with a nameplate capacity of 698 MW. It generates roughly 3.8M MWh per year — enough to power about 363,754 average U.S. homes.
Its capacity factor of 62% puts it in the middle range — running steadily but not full-time. At 842 lb CO₂/MWh, its emission rate sits above the national grid average of roughly 800 lb/MWh.
Ghost bars are each month's theoretical maximum (698 MW nameplate × hours in the month). Filled bars are actual net generation reported to EIA Form 923. The gap between them is capacity factor made visible.
| Plant Name | Buck |
|---|---|
| Operator | Duke Energy Carolinas, Llc |
| City | Salisbury |
| County | Rowan County |
| State | North Carolina |
| ZIP | 28145 |
| Coordinates | 35.71330, -80.37670 |
This plant highlighted in navy-ringed pin; other generators within 25 miles shown as fuel-colored dots.
| ID | Technology | Fuel | Capacity | Status | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ST10 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 327 MW | Operating | 2011 |
| CT11 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 185 MW | Operating | 2011 |
| CT12 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 185 MW | Operating | 2011 |
| 5 | Conventional Steam Coal | Bituminous Coal | 125 MW | Retired | 1953 |
| 6 | Conventional Steam Coal | Bituminous Coal | 125 MW | Retired | 1953 |
| 3 | Conventional Steam Coal | Bituminous Coal | 80.0 MW | Retired | 1941 |
| 4 | Conventional Steam Coal | Bituminous Coal | 40.0 MW | Retired | 1942 |
| 7 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 34.8 MW | Retired | 1970 |
| 8 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 34.8 MW | Retired | 1970 |
| 9 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 34.8 MW | Retired | 1970 |
| CO₂ | 1.6M metric tons |
|---|---|
| SO₂ | 8 metric tons |
| NOₓ | 120 metric tons |
| CO₂ Rate | 842 lb/MWh |
Annual totals and CO₂ rate reported by EPA eGRID for 2023. Reference averages are approximate U.S.-wide figures from the same dataset.
| NERC Region | SERC |
|---|---|
| Balancing Authority | Duke Energy Carolinas |
Natural gas plants are the workhorse of the modern grid. Combined-cycle units achieve very high efficiency and can ramp up and down quickly to balance variable renewables. They emit roughly half the CO₂ per MWh of coal and far less of other pollutants, but they still release upstream methane during fuel extraction.