Belews Creek
Natural gas power plant · Stokes County, North Carolina
Details
- Primary fuel
- Natural gas
- Technology
- Natural Gas Steam Turbine
- Operator
- Duke Energy Carolinas, LLC
- County
- Stokes County
- Generating units
- 2
- Share of state capacity
- 6.21%
- Rank among natural gas plants in North Carolina
- #1 of 22
- EIA plant code
- 8042
Generating units
| Unit | Technology | Nameplate | Summer | Online | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Natural Gas Steam Turbine | 1,246 MW | 1,110 MW | 1974 | Operating |
| 2 | Natural Gas Steam Turbine | 1,246 MW | 1,110 MW | 1975 | 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
| Roxboro | Coal | 2,558 MW |
| McGuire | Nuclear | 2,441 MW |
| Lincoln Combustion | Natural gas | 2,290 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 2,491 MW solar plant and a 2,491 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