How many natural gas power plants are in North Carolina?

North Carolina has 23 operating utility-scale natural gas power plants with 19 GW of capacity, according to the EIA's monthly survey of power plants.

What is the largest natural gas power plant in North Carolina?

Belews Creek in Stokes County, North Carolina is the largest, at 2,491 MW. It came online in 1975.

How many natural gas power plants were built in North Carolina in 2025?

0 natural gas power plants came online in North Carolina in 2025, with 0 MW of capacity.

Who is developing natural gas power plants in North Carolina?

Interconnection queues list each project under a project company, not the developer behind it. Cleanview researches the developer of every project and has them on paid plans.

Natural gas power plants in North Carolina

North Carolina has 23 operating natural gas power plants with 19 GW of capacity.

Operating23

See planned natural gas power plants in North Carolina

Updated monthly. Last updated November 2026.

Under 250 MW250–999 MW1 GW and up

Updated monthly. Last updated November 2026.

North Carolina had 18 natural gas power plants online in 2016 and 23 in 2026

2016’162017’172018’182019’192020’202021’212022’222023’232024’242025’252026’26

Natural gas power plants online at the end of each year. Source: EIA-860M, compiled by Cleanview.

The 10 largest natural gas power plants in North Carolina

Operating, by capacity

#	Natural gas power plant	County	Year online	Capacity
1	Belews Creek	Stokes County	1975	2,491 MW
2	Sherwood H Smith Jr Energy Complex	Richmond County	2011	2,245 MW
3	Lincoln Combustion	Lincoln County	2024	2,156 MW
4	James E. Rogers Energy Complex	Cleveland County	2012	1,531 MW
5	Rowan	Rowan County	2003	1,192 MW
6	Lee Combined Cycle Plant	Wayne County	2012	1,068 MW
7	Marshall (NC)	Catawba County	1969	1,060 MW
8	Asheville	Buncombe County	2020	1,012 MW
9	Wayne County Energy Complex	Wayne County	2009	980 MW
10	Rockingham County CT Station	Rockingham County	2000	978 MW

Natural gas power plants that came online most recently in North Carolina

Newest first

#	Natural gas power plant	County	Year online	Capacity
1	Lincoln Combustion	Lincoln County	2024	2,156 MW
2	Asheville	Buncombe County	2020	1,012 MW
3	NCSU CCUP Cogeneration Plant	Wake County	2019	7 MW
4	Kings Mountain Energy Center	Cleveland County	2018	544 MW
5	L V Sutton Combined Cycle	New Hanover County	2017	851 MW
6	Hamlet Generating Facility	Richmond County	2013	344 MW
7	James E. Rogers Energy Complex	Cleveland County	2012	1,531 MW
8	Lee Combined Cycle Plant	Wayne County	2012	1,068 MW
9	Dan River	Rockingham County	2012	698 MW
10	Cleveland Cnty Generating Facility	Cleveland County	2012	736 MW

The developer behind each project is on paid plans. See plans

How Cleanview tracks natural gas power plants

Operating natural gas power plants come from the EIA's monthly survey of power plants. Planned projects come from the grid operators' interconnection queues. We research who is developing each one, since a queue lists a project company, not its owner.

Questions about natural gas power plants in North Carolina

How many natural gas power plants are in North Carolina?: North Carolina has 23 operating utility-scale natural gas power plants with 19 GW of capacity, according to the EIA's monthly survey of power plants.
What is the largest natural gas power plant in North Carolina?: Belews Creek in Stokes County, North Carolina is the largest, at 2,491 MW. It came online in 1975.
How many natural gas power plants were built in North Carolina in 2025?: 0 natural gas power plants came online in North Carolina in 2025, with 0 MW of capacity.
Who is developing natural gas power plants in North Carolina?: Interconnection queues list each project under a project company, not the developer behind it. Cleanview researches the developer of every project and has them on paid plans.