Huntersville
McGuire Nuclear Station on Lake Norman
Most people in Huntersville can see the domes from the water. What is less widely known is the order of events: the lake was built for the plant before the plant existed, and the reasoning was written down more than a decade in advance.
The lake came first
When the North Carolina Historic Preservation Office evaluated the Cowans Ford development, it recorded the project’s purpose in plain terms: hydroelectric generation and cooling water supply for steam and nuclear plants. That evaluation describes a project begun in 1959. McGuire did not break ground until 1971. Duke Power was building the reservoir its future reactors would need before it had the reactors.
Marshall Steam Station on the Catawba County shore went commercial in 1965 and took the same water. Read that way, Lake Norman is less a recreational amenity that happened to acquire power plants than an industrial cooling pond that happened to acquire a shoreline.
Building the station
The site is nearly 700 acres in northwestern Mecklenburg County, about seventeen miles north-northwest of Charlotte, inside the town of Huntersville. Groundbreaking was in 1971. It is named for William McGuire, a former president of Duke Power.
What is inside
Two Westinghouse four-loop pressurized water reactors, each in an ice condenser containment. Current licensed thermal power is 3,469 megawatts thermal per unit. Duke Energy gives the station’s capacity as 2,316 megawatts, which it describes as enough for more than 1.7 million homes. About 650 people work there, with contractors added during refueling outages.
The cooling arrangement is the reason the station sits where it does. Duke states plainly that McGuire draws Lake Norman water for cooling and returns it to the lake.
Licenses and renewal
Unit 1’s operating license was issued on May 27, 1981, Unit 2’s on May 27, 1983. A joint renewal application covering McGuire and Catawba reached the NRC on June 14, 2001, and renewed licenses were issued on December 5, 2003, adding twenty years to each. The current expirations are June 12, 2041 for Unit 1 and March 3, 2043 for Unit 2.
Duke announced in 2019 that it intended to seek a second renewal across its Carolinas fleet, beginning with Oconee. As of this writing there is no NRC record of a subsequent renewal application for McGuire having been submitted or granted, so the 2041 and 2043 dates are the ones that stand.
Visiting
Duke Energy runs a free energy education center at the station called the EnergyExplorium, with self-guided exhibits on electricity, weather, the nuclear process and the history of the Catawba River basin, and a one-mile wooded walking trail on the grounds. Hours change seasonally, so check Duke’s page rather than any second-hand listing.
What it meant for Huntersville
A station of this size reshapes a small town’s tax base, its employment and its emergency planning. Huntersville in 1971 was a railroad and cotton town of a few thousand people; the plant, the lake and the interstate together turned it into one of the fastest-growing municipalities in North Carolina. The story of that transformation is in the history of Huntersville.
McGuire on the public record
Almost everything worth knowing about McGuire is filed with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission or published by Duke Energy. These are those figures, with their sources named.
| Item | Figure |
|---|---|
| Reactors | Two Westinghouse four-loop pressurized water reactors, with ice-condenser containment |
| Licensed thermal power | 3,469 MWt per unit, per the NRC’s current reactor pages |
| Station capacity | 2,316 megawatts, per Duke Energy’s own fact sheet |
| Unit 1 operating license | Issued May 27, 1981; first commercial electricity on December 12, 1981 |
| Unit 2 operating license | Issued May 27, 1983; commercial operation in 1984 |
| License renewal | Applications filed June 14, 2001; renewed licenses issued December 5, 2003, adding twenty years each |
| Current expiry | Unit 1 on June 12, 2041; Unit 2 on March 3, 2043 |
| Site | Nearly 700 acres on Lake Norman, about 17 miles north-northwest of Charlotte |
| Workforce | About 650 employees, plus contract workers during refueling outages |
| Named for | William McGuire, a Duke Power president |
One thing this article deliberately does not say: that McGuire is licensed beyond 2041 and 2043. As noted above, there is no NRC record of a second renewal application for the station.
Frequently asked questions
Where is McGuire Nuclear Station?
On the Mecklenburg County shore of Lake Norman in Huntersville, about seventeen miles north-northwest of Charlotte, on a site of nearly 700 acres.
When did McGuire start operating?
Unit 1 produced its first commercial electricity on December 12, 1981. Unit 2 began commercial operation in 1984.
Who is McGuire named after?
William McGuire, a former president of Duke Power.
Does McGuire use Lake Norman for cooling?
Yes. Duke Energy states the station draws lake water for cooling and circulates it back into the lake. The lake was built partly for that purpose, more than a decade before the station.
How long are the licenses good for?
Unit 1’s license runs to June 12, 2041 and Unit 2’s to March 3, 2043, following the twenty-year renewals issued in December 2003.
Sources for this article
A Huntersville firm, a few minutes from the lake
Adkins Law is on Sherrill Estates Road in Huntersville. If you need a family lawyer who knows this town rather than one who drives up from Charlotte, start here.
Adkins Law, PLLC · 9620 Sherrill Estates Road, Huntersville, NC 28078
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This article is local history, offered for general interest. It is not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney–client relationship. Historical accounts are drawn from the sources listed above; where sources disagree, that is noted in the text. For advice about your own situation, speak with a licensed North Carolina attorney.