Belews Creek
Belews Creek is a natural gas plant in Stokes County, North Carolina, operated by Duke Energy Carolinas, LLC. By nameplate capacity it is the 30th-largest power plant in the United States and the second-largest in North Carolina. Among the 1,961 natural gas plants in the country it is the seventh-largest. It is the biggest of North Carolina’s 21 natural gas plants.
Nameplate capacity, 2025
2,491 MW
2,220 MW net summer capacity
2 operable units
- Gas steam turbine2,491 MW100%
Unit by unit, 1974 to 2025
operating in 2025bar height follows unit size
Unit 1 Gas steam turbine, 1,246 MW, 1974
Unit 2 Gas steam turbine, 1,246 MW, 1975
Among North Carolina’s plants
Largest plants in the state by nameplate capacity, with the plants ranked next to this one.
- 1Roxboro2,558 MW
- 2Belews Creekthis plant
- 3McGuire2,441 MW
- 4Sherwood H Smith Jr Energy Complex2,245 MW
Other rankings
- Plants in the Duke Energy Carolinas balancing area
- 2nd of 441
- Plants run by Duke Energy Carolinas, LLC
- 2nd of 45
- Biggest single unit, among North Carolina’s plants
- 1st of 924
Operable units
By the year its oldest working unit started, it is the second-oldest of North Carolina’s natural gas plants.
| Unit | Technology | Nameplate | Summer | Online | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gas steam turbine | 1,246 MW | 1,110 MW | 1974 | Operating |
| 2 | Gas steam turbine | 1,246 MW | 1,110 MW | 1975 | Operating |
Grid and site
- Balancing area
- Duke Energy Carolinas
- Reliability region
- SERC Reliability Corporation
- Highest grid connection voltage
- 230 kV
- Water source
- Belews Lake
- Nearest town on record
- Belews Creek
- Operator type
- Utility
- Coordinates
- 36.281°N, 80.060°W
Closest plants
| Plant | Runs on | Capacity | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lick Creek Solar, LLC | Solar | 50 MW | 3.8 mi west |
| Carol Jean Solar | Solar | 4 MW | 5.3 mi northwest |
| Waste Management Piedmont LFGTE Project | Biomass and waste | 1.6 MW | 6.1 mi south |
| Salem Energy Systems LLC | Biomass and waste | 4.5 MW | 9.3 mi southwest |
| Germantown Solar, LLC | Solar | 1.5 MW | 11.1 mi west |
| Avalon Hydropower | Hydroelectric | 1.2 MW | 11.5 mi northeast |
| Moyer Solar | Solar | 5 MW | 12.8 mi northeast |
| DE Solar 657 Brigham Rd | Solar | 1.3 MW | 13.2 mi southeast |