Potential for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy to Replace Asheville Coal Plant

Sierra Club
Project completed April 2015

Synapse analyzed the potential for clean alternatives to replace Progress Energy’s Asheville, North Carolina, coal-fired power plant. Specifically, this analysis considered local reliability issues that may be triggered by the retirement of the Asheville plant, the ability of clean alternatives (such as energy efficiency and renewable resources) to resolve those reliability issues, and the comparative costs and bill impacts of clean alternatives versus pollution control retrofits at the Asheville plant. Synapse’s work product discussed the untapped potential for energy efficiency, renewable energy, and demand response in the service territory of the Asheville plant.