Progress Energy will shut down the Sutton power plant near Wilmington by the end of 2014, but the company expects to build a $600 million natural gas-powered plant about the same size at the site.

The power company plans to close four of its coal-burning plants, according to a press release. Sutton’s 600 megawatt plant on U.S. 421 is the largest-voltage  plant slated to be closed. Others include the Cape Fear Plant near Moncure, the Weatherspoon Plant near Lumberton and the Lee Plant near Goldsboro.

The Sutton Plant employs about 80 workers.

Progress Energy spokesperson Mike Hughes said “We expect to file an application for a certificate of need to the NC utilities commission before the end of the year.”

That application would put the site on track to begin energy production by the time the coal-powered plant is closed, he said.

The natural gas-powered plant that would replace Sutton would employ 35-40 people, Hughes said. “We are working to identify other areas in the company that these folks can transfer to either short-term or long term,” he said. He also added that employees at the Wilmington site may be retrained to operate the new plant.

The four plants do not use flue-gas desulfurization controls or scrubbers. The plants are about 30 percent of the Progress Energy’s coal-fired power generation fleet in North Carolina. The moves will result in “significant emission reductions, including carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, mercury and other pollutants” according to a press release.

“Progress Energy’s announcement is important for North Carolina’s air quality,” said Gov. Bev Perdue in a press release. “The transition toward cleaner sources of energy is good for the environment and the economy.”

The Sutton Plant is named after Louis V. Sutton, the chairman and president of Carolina Power & Light from 1933 to 1968. Carolina Power merged in 2001 with Florida Power to become Progress Energy. The Sutton Plant is about 56 years old.

Progress Energy also plans to build a new plant fueled by natural gas in Wayne County. The company will continue to operate three coal-fired plants in North Carolina after 2017. The company has invested more than $2 billion in installing state-of-the-art emission controls at the 2,424 megawatt Roxboro Plant and the 742- megawatt Mayo Plant, both located in Person County, and the 376- megawatt Asheville Plant in Buncombe County. Emissions of nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, mercury and other pollutants have been reduced significantly at those sites.

Installing emission controls on older, smaller coal-fired units is expensive, including hundreds of millions of dollars per unit for flue-gas desulfurization equipment (scrubbers) and additional expense for other technologies. Current and expected legislation affecting various pollutants will continue to increase the cost of coal-fired generation, particularly at smaller, older plants.

The plan filed on Tuesday was in response to a request by the N.C. Utilities Commission. The regulatory agency ordered the company to provide its retirement plans related to “unscrubbed” coal-fired units in North Carolina.

The company expects to retire the coal-fired Sutton Plant in 2014. The plant has three units that came online in 1954, 1955 and 1972. In the coming weeks, the company will seek approval from state regulators to build a natural gas-fueled plant of about the same size as the current coal plant (600 megawatts) at the Sutton site, located on the Cape Fear River near Wilmington.  Due to the location of the plant at the far eastern end of Progress Energy’s electric system, the company must replace the generation in the same area to maintain system reliability, according to the release.