Commercial Electrician in Mineral Springs, NC

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Duke Energy has placed into service one of the nation’s most advanced green microgrids in the Madison County town of Hot Springs.

The Hot Springs microgrid consists of a 2-megawatt (AC) solar facility and a 4.4-megawatt lithium-based battery storage facility. The microgrid not only provides a safe, cost-effective and reliable grid solution for serving the Hot Springs area, but it will also provide energy and additional bulk system benefits for all customers.

This will include reliability services to the electric grid, such as frequency and voltage regulation and ramping support and capacity during system peaks.

“Duke Energy has numerous smaller microgrids on our system, but this is our first microgrid that can power an entire small town if its main power line experiences an outage,” said Jason Handley, general manager, Distributed Energy Group.

Hot Springs, with a population of just over 500, has limited rerouting options should an outage occur. During its testing phase, Duke Energy’s microgrid was able to pick up the town’s entire load from a black start without any help from the energy grid – using only the solar and battery storage to restore power. The microgrid served the town’s load while the company gathered data.

“Through energy storage and microgrids, Duke Energy can enable the integration of more renewables onto the grid and help improve reliability while keeping costs affordable for customers and the communities we serve,” added Handley.

Duke Energy worked with the technology company Wärtsilä, who supplied the battery energy storage system for the project. The microgrid utilizes Wärtsilä’s sophisticated energy management system, the GEMS Digital Energy Platform, for integrated control of both the solar and energy storage facilities.

“The Hot Springs inverter-only-based community microgrid is a great step forward for Duke Energy and our customers. This project has reduced the need for equipment upgrades in an environmentally sensitive area,” added Handley. “We are using lessons learned from this first-of-its-kind installation to take to our other microgrids under construction in Indiana and Florida. At a larger scale, microgrids bring more resiliency to the energy grid for our customers.”

Duke Energy has been active with microgrids and battery storage, with over 60 megawatts connected throughout Duke Energy’s regulated areas. In Asheville, Duke Energy operates a 9-megawatt lithium-ion battery system at a substation site in the Rock Hill community – near Sweeten Creek Road. In Haywood County, the company has a 3.8-kilowatt-hour lithium iron phosphate battery and 10-kilowatt solar DC microgrid installation serving a communications tower on Mount Sterling in the Smoky Mountains National Park.

Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK), a Fortune 150 company headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., is one of America’s largest energy holding companies. Its electric utilities serve 8.2 million customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky, and collectively own 50,000 megawatts of energy capacity. Its natural gas unit serves 1.6 million customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Ohio and Kentucky. The company employs 28,000 people.

Duke Energy is executing an aggressive clean energy transition to achieve its goals of net-zero methane emissions from its natural gas business by 2030 and net-zero carbon emissions from electricity generation by 2050. The company has interim carbon emission targets of at least 50% reduction from electric generation by 2030, 50% for Scope 2 and certain Scope 3 upstream and downstream emissions by 2035, and 80% from electric generation by 2040. In addition, the company is investing in major electric grid enhancements and energy storage, and exploring zero-emission power generation technologies such as hydrogen and advanced nuclear.

Duke Energy was named to Fortune’s 2022 “World’s Most Admired Companies” list and Forbes’ “World’s Best Employers” list. More information is available at duke-energy.com. The Duke Energy News Center contains news releases, fact sheets, photos and videos. Duke Energy’s illumination features stories about people, innovations, community topics and environmental issues. Follow Duke Energy on Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook.

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Duke Energy contact: Randy Wheeless 24-Hour: 800.559.3853 Twitter: @DE_RandyW

HOT SPRINGS, N.C. – After shaking off their winter slowdown, a number of Western North Carolina bears are perhaps a little cranky and acting more aggressively than usual.

The U.S. Forest Service has established a temporary overnight camping ban along the Appalachian Trail from Tanyard Gap in Hot Springs, about an hour north of Asheville, North Carolina, to Deep Gap in Franklin, a little over an hour east of Asheville, due to "recent aggressive bear behavior," according to a May 11 release from the USFS.

"While backpackers are still permitted to hike through the area, all campsites and shelters are off limits, to include the area surrounding Rich Mountain Fire Tower," the release said.

Jen Barnhart, a U.S. Forest Service district ranger on the Appalachian Ranger District of the Pisgah National Forest, said a mother bear and her cubs were stealing people's backpacks and bear canisters to access food.

"The backpacks are being stolen because they have food in them," Barnhart said. "Especially if the bear is around, and the hikers walk away from their backpack before they even got their food out to store it properly."

Barnhart said a number of hikers have submitted reports online through the Appalachian Trail Conservancy website, which then passes the reports on to the USFS.

When will overnight camping be allowed?

While there is no timetable for when overnight camping along this stretch will return, Barnhart said they can make predictions of bears' activity, and that experts will need to keep monitoring their behavior.

"At this point, they're waiting for berry season to come in, and the biologist from the state said it could be like a month until berries come on," Barnhart said.

For now, mother bears are teaching cubs to sniff for food to take from humans. Barnhart said there have been reports of bears brushing up against campers' tents at night and snatching backpacks.

"We'll be continuing to look at reports that we're getting from hikers until at some point it makes sense not to have the temporary ban," Barnhart said.

Tips for protecting your food and yourself from aggressive bears

For backpackers in need of shelter, there are more than 250 located at varying intervals — some that have food storage systems in place to protect food from bears and other animals. They are an average of about 8 miles apart, but can range from 5 miles to 15 miles apart, or even as much as 30 miles apart when there is a town with some sort of lodging in between, according to the USFS.

Ashley Hobbs, of the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission, offered a few tips to follow in the case of crossing paths with a black bear.

Stop, back up and go in the opposite direction.

“You never want to run. Bears are omnivores so they still have that predatory chase instinct, and you don’t want to change an otherwise benign situation to a chase situation,” she said. “Just back up slowly in the opposite direction, give that bear a lot of space. Usually, bears want to get away from us as much as we want to get away from them.”

Give the bear an escape route so it doesn’t feel cornered.

In the rare case that a black bear does pursue, the person should try to make their body look as big as possible and “let them know they mean business,” she said.

The next step would be to throw rocks or sticks at the bear so it will “turn tail and run away.”

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Johnny Casey is the Madison County community reporter for The News-Record & Sentinel.

HOT SPRINGS - Mayor Abby Norton said building a new wastewater treatment plant in Hot Springs was at the top of her list of goals when she was elected in 2019.

Last month, Norton found out her wish would be realized as the Hot Springs Town Board received word it will receive up to $4 million to complete the project by 2026.

"I've been trying to get something done with this sewer plant since I got elected," Norton said. "I saw that email and I went, 'Yahoo.' There are a lot of things that are in bad shape in Hot Springs, but that sewer plant, I think, is the main thing."

The North Carolina Collaboratory at UNC Chapel Hill, in partnership with the UNC Environmental Finance Center, reviewed the application submitted by the town of Hot Springs for a proposed wastewater project and determined this project is eligible to receive grant funding under the Innovative Highly Treated Wastewater Pilot Program, Norton said.

The town will use American Rescue Plan funding for the new plant, according to the mayor.

"It's a big deal," Norton said, adding that McGill Associates, an engineering firm working with the town as part of its wastewater Asset Inventory Assessment grant it received in 2019, helped the town secure the funding.

"I've been pushing for grants and getting them to apply for a grant that I think we might be able to get, and we finally got one."

Background

According to Norton, the town applied for a state grant in 2022 but was rejected.

In the Madison County Board of Commissioners January 2022 meeting, Norton and Karen Kiehna, a grant administrator with McGill Associates, appeared before the commissioners to request $3 million for a new wastewater treatment plant.

Kiehna said upgrades to the wastewater treatment plant will benefit the town and the county as a whole.

"The ability to accept additional wastewater flow and to support economic growth is critical to the town of Hot Springs and to Madison County," Kiehna said. "Hot Springs is crucial to the continued development of tourism for Madison County, and the resulting positive economic impact. Upgrades at the wastewater treatment plant to accommodate the economic growth and improvements to the sewer collection and treatment system are critical to the protection of the water quality for the French Broad River, Spring Creek and to enhance the opportunity for economic growth."

In July 2021, the Hot Springs Town Board voted to suspend new sewer connections after rainfall in June and July 2021 caused the town to reach higher than state-recommended usage levels.

More: BOC talks Hot Springs' waste plantMadison commissioners debate Hot Springs' request for waste treatment facility upgrades

More: Board halts new sewer connectionsHot Springs Town Board votes to temporarily stop new sewer connections

More: Another new sewer connection haltHot Springs reinstates new sewer connection moratorium; this time for 6 months

The state recommends a town maintain an average of 80% capacity.

According to Norton, during that summer, the average per-day output was higher than the 80% threshold, as the current wastewater treatment plant operates an 80,000-gallon capacity and the average output throughout a nearly three-week period was close to 78,000 gallons.

The mayor said the new plant will remedy this problem, as the grant will allow the town to build a plant with a 200,000-gallon capacity.

The Hot Springs mayor said one of the stipulations of the funding is that it must be used by Dec. 31, 2026.

Norton said no timeline has been offered on when construction of the new plant will begin.

"We, as a governing board, are thankful for this opportunity to provide improved service to our citizens in the future and look forward to working with the Collaboratory to make this proposed project a reality," Norton said.

HOT SPRINGS - When new owners Keith and Sarah Calloway bought Vaste Riviere Provisions in downtown Hot Springs in November 2022, the couple always had bigger plans for the space than its gourmet market, deli/bakery and grocery.

In March, Keith Calloway will open Bugs and Brews, which will offer Calloway's handmade bamboo fly rods, as well as beers. The shop will operate out of the back of Vaste Riviere and will eventually have its own entrance from the South Andrews Avenue parking lot.

The News-Record spoke Feb. 14 with Calloway, who said he was waiting on fixtures he ordered from Adams & Sons Fixture Co., a fly fishing fixture shop in Bozeman, Montana.

The shop will feature bamboo fly rods handmade by Calloway. Each rod requires about 40 to 50 hours of labor, Calloway said.

"It originally starts off as a 12-inch stick by 2-inch standard piece of bamboo, and then it gets split into strips," Calloway said. "Then the strips get straightened, and they get knocked into 60-degree triangles. Then, from there, they get planed down further and tapered. The cane's been dried a few years, and then we do a heat treating on it, as well."

Rods will not be the only item for sale. Calloway will offer a full fly shop, including flies, leaders, lines, tippets, nets, terminal tackle, weights and more.

More: New shop owners have big plansNew gourmet grocery store owners have big plans for Hot Springs business

Calloway said he receives Tonkin cane bamboo from a specific region in China.

"The Tonkin cane has to do with the way the valley is," Calloway said. "The wind comes through it, and it grows tall and straight, and it builds these tremendous power fibers."

Calloway was introduced to the Tonkin cane material by one of his fly fishing mentors, Bill Oyster, who owns Oyster Fine Bamboo Fly Rods in Blue Ridge, Georgia.

"He's probably the best in the world at the moment," Calloway said. "He's got some fly rods that (sell for) upwards of $15,000, and he's on a waitlist."

Oyster is not the only mentor Calloway has had throughout his years as a fly fishing fan.

Calloway attended the Wulff School of Fly Fishing - run by Joan and Lee Wulff in Lew Beach, New York - in 2009.

"Lee Wulff is sort of the father of fly fishing," Calloway said. "(Joan) was a world champion fly caster in the '60s. I went up there and became a certified casting instructor and spent two weeks in the Catskills."

While Bugs and Brews will be the first shop dedicated to fly fishing in Madison County, the area is known throughout the fly fishing community as a hot spot.

"Not only is Western North Carolina (a sought out spot) with all the streams we've got, but then also Northeast Tennessee there - particularly the (South) Holston and Watauga (Lake). They're world-famous trout spots," Calloway said.

Calloway lists Montana, Colorado, Wyoming and the Patagonia as some of his favorite fly fishing destinations. The brook, brown and rainbow trout are the three most common fish captured in Hot Springs, though the region also offers some small mouth bass and musky (muskellunge), according to Calloway.

The shop owner does not eat the fish, advocating instead for the "catch and release" mantra.

"That way you've got a chance to go back and catch them again," he said.

Plans for the shop

In the past, Calloway worked out of a space where he built fly rods out of a studio in the South Slope neighborhood of Asheville, but this will be the first time Calloway has operated a fly fishing shop.

"We loved the location with the rivers for fly fishing," Keith Calloway told The Citizen Times in January about he and his wife's decision to buy Vaste Riviere. "I had been in food and beverage before - I have managed a few restaurants in the past - and she has bed and breakfast experience."

Calloway said he plans to offer fly-tying lessons, as well as a weekly fly tying night at the shop. Calloway will also team up with Curtis Wright Outfitters and Fly Fishing Guides in Weaverville to provide guided trips.

Calloway will also offer casting lessons taught by him. One-on-one introductory lessons on the water will be provided by guides at Curtis Wright.

Calloway and Curtis Wright co-owner and lead guide Josh Garris were teammates on the original North Carolina Fly Fishing Team.

"That would have been about 13-14 years ago," said Calloway, who added that he's been fly fishing for about 25 years.

In addition to his restaurant work, Calloway worked 20 years in the corporate world for Evergreen Medical, an environmental and medical gas consultant company for hospitals across the nation.

Calloway said he became interested in fly fishing as a result of his love for nature.

"It was more of my environmental science background that led me down that path," he said. "It was more getting in tune with the stream and nature - the aquatic insects and the area, what's happening, and being one with it."

According to Calloway, fly fishing exists as its own distinct brand of an outdoor sport.

"You're trying to manage nature, more so (than in other forms of fishing)," Calloway said. "You're matching the hatch of the surrounding environment and what's going on, as opposed to trying to trick a fish. I mean, you're still trying to trick the fish, but it's more about being one with the actual river and what's going on."

Bugs and Brews is located in back of Vaste Riviere Provisions, located at 158 Bridge St. in Hot Springs.

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Where is the fountain of youth hidden?

Tucked away in a small park, an unassuming creek flows beneath an arched bridge. Families picnic nearby. At first glance, you may not realize you're looking at one of North Carolina's 'healing' mineral springs.

WRAL Daily Download

Summer excursions: North Carolina's fountain of youth

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Ever since the spring was discovered in the 1800s, people have traveled from across the state just to get a taste of its water. The drawing power of the spring was so strong that an entire town sprung up around it - the town of Fuquay Springs, today known as Fuquay-Varina.

Mineral spring discovered on a family farm

The mineral spring was first discovered in 1858 on the farm of a Revolutionary War veteran named William Fuquay.

Historians still debate who first discovered the mineral spring – whether it was Fuquay's son Stephen or grandson David Crockett. Regardless, the family directed the water into a pool and began drinking from it regularly. They hung a gourd from a nearby tree, according to most accounts, and the community began sipping from it regularly.

Then something strange began to happen: Locals who drank often from the mineral spring began reporting recovering from their ailments.

An exhibit on the Mineral Spring at the Fuquay-Varina Museums shared some of the claims from the era:

"For complaints of the kidneys, liver and stomach, the water has afforded complete relief. Many cases of heart trouble, brought on and accentuated by indigestion, have disappeared entirely."

"More than one person has arrived at the Spring nearly bent double with rheumatism and left after a few weeks perfectly well."

The spring was described as "bubbling up through a bed of solid rock," and when tested, the water was shown to have: Potassium chloride, sodium chloride, sodium bicarbonate, magnesium bicarbonate, magnesium sulphate, calcium bicarbonate, calcium sulphate, calcium silicate, iron and aluminum oxides and silica.

"When you look at the list of minerals, you can see how the spring water may have helped people find relief from some ailments,"says Shirley Simmons, Volunteer Director of Fuquay-Varina Museums.

A healing hotspot: Attraction draws crowds from across NC

As "taking the waters" grew into a popular attraction, especially for those with ailments, the community grew rapidly around it.

"Three major things contributed to the growth of Fuquay-Varina," says Simmons. "The mineral spring, the railroad and tobacco."

Around the same time, as the springs grew in fame, the railroad was built through the town, allowing easy access for visitors from around the state. Meanwhile, hotels and shops popped up around the spring, catering to the growing crowds. Some visitors stayed around for weeks at a time, hoping to heal from constant access to the water.

"There was even a day-trip train from Raleigh," says Simmons. "It was advertised that people in Raleigh could get on board, come to the healing springs for a picnic and a drink, then go back home."

The immense demand for the spring water also lead to popular celebrations on Easter Monday and the Fourth of July. Photos from the early 1900s show crowds gathered in their Sunday finest for a day at the healing mineral springs.

Saving the history of Fuquay-Varina

Even with their importance to the history of the town, the mineral springs were almost completely overgrown and forgotten at one point, according to Simmons.

Fortunately, the spring was sold to the town and restored into a park the public can visit once again.

Simmons has spent decades working to preserve the history of Fuquay-Varina at the museum complex in downtown. The museum has rescued several priceless artifacts and historic buildings -- like an original two-room schoolhouse from the 1800s, which once stood near the spring.

Aside from the schoolhouse, the museum grounds also allow visitors to explore an authentic early 1900s post-office, a century-old tobacco barn, a vintage playhouse for kids and a real train caboose.

Visitors can explore all of these historic places, as well as the mineral spring, on Saturday, May 7, as part of the Heritage Day celebration. All buildings will be open for exploration from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m.

The Fuquay Mineral Spring Park is open to the public.

Note: WRAL News has not verified the safety of drinking from the spring in modern times. For information on the water safety, contact the Fuquay Mineral Spring Park.

Podcast: Listen to the story of North Carolina's healing springs