Bear Creek Dam
Hydro power plant · Jackson County, North Carolina
Details
- Primary fuel
- Hydro
- Technology
- Conventional Hydroelectric
- Operator
- Duke Energy Carolinas, LLC
- County
- Jackson County
- Generating units
- 1
- Share of state capacity
- 0.02%
- Rank among hydro plants in North Carolina
- #23 of 38
- EIA plant code
- 2741
Generating units
| Unit | Technology | Nameplate | Summer | Online | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Conventional Hydroelectric | 9.0 MW | 9.5 MW | 1954 | Operating |
Nameplate is the maximum rated output; summer capacity is what the unit can reliably deliver on a hot day, which is typically lower.
Similarly sized plants in North Carolina
| DSM Pharmaceuticals | Natural gas | 9.2 MW |
| Smithfield Packaged Meats Corp (Kinston) | Other | 9.2 MW |
| HWY 158 PV | Solar | 9.0 MW |
| Asheville-Rock Hill Battery | Battery storage | 8.8 MW |
About this data
From EIA’s inventory of operable generators, May 2026 release. Capacity is nameplate — the maximum rated output of the equipment, not what the plant actually generates over a year, which depends on how often it runs. A 9.0 MW solar plant and a 9.0 MW nuclear plant have the same entry here and produce very different amounts of electricity.
“In service since” is the earliest in-service date among the units still listed, so a site rebuilt around newer equipment can read as younger than the site itself. All North Carolina power plants · What North Carolina actually generates