6th largest plant in North Carolina · 71st nationally
Hf Lee Plant is a natural gas power plant in North Carolina with a nameplate capacity of 2,048 MW. It generates roughly 6.5M MWh per year — enough to power about 615,750 average U.S. homes.
Its capacity factor of 36% reflects intermittent or peaking operation. At 858 lb CO₂/MWh, its emission rate sits above the national grid average of roughly 800 lb/MWh.
| Plant Name | Hf Lee Plant |
|---|---|
| Operator | Duke Energy Progress - (Nc) |
| City | Goldsboro |
| County | Wayne County |
| State | North Carolina |
| ZIP | 27530 |
| Coordinates | 35.37987, -78.08779 |
This plant highlighted in navy-ringed pin; other generators within 25 miles shown as fuel-colored dots.
| ID | Technology | Fuel | Capacity | Status | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | Conventional Steam Coal | Bituminous Coal | 252 MW | Retired | 1962 |
| 1 | Conventional Steam Coal | Bituminous Coal | 75.0 MW | Retired | 1952 |
| 2 | Conventional Steam Coal | Bituminous Coal | 75.0 MW | Retired | 1951 |
| GT2 | Petroleum Liquids | Distillate Oil | 29.9 MW | Retired | 1971 |
| GT3 | Petroleum Liquids | Distillate Oil | 29.9 MW | Retired | 1971 |
| GT4 | Petroleum Liquids | Distillate Oil | 29.9 MW | Retired | 1971 |
| GT1 | Petroleum Liquids | Distillate Oil | 16.3 MW | Retired | 1968 |
| CO₂ | 2.8M metric tons |
|---|---|
| SO₂ | 11 metric tons |
| NOₓ | 965 metric tons |
| CO₂ Rate | 858 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 Progress East |
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.