Utility favored coal-fired power last year, producing more than in 2020
Duke Energy claims its growth of renewable energy sources “soared” in 2021, but the company generated just 5.4 percent of its electricity from wind and solar last year, according to a report the company released on Tuesday.
In the 2021 environment, social and governance, or ESG, report, Duke documents just how little renewable-generated electricity it delivered to its 7 million-plus captive customers throughout the six states where the nation’s biggest investor-owned monopoly utility operates.
Duke misleadingly claims it expanded its total renewable energy capacity by more than 20 percent last year. But wind and solar power generation across the entire company in 2021 was just over 5 percent, including throughout its monopoly territories in the Carolinas, Florida, Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio, combined.
Duke’s record, from its own 2021 ESG report:
- Fracked gas: 36 percent
- Nuclear: 34.9 percent
- Coal: 22.3 percent
- Wind: 3.4 percent
- Solar: 2.0 percent
- Hydro: 1.3 percent
“The relentless greenwashing and deception at Duke Energy continue as usual,” said EWG President Ken Cook. “The more than 7 million customers who are beholden to the monopoly utility to power their homes and businesses should be furious about Duke’s intolerable resistance to shedding its reliance to dirty and dangerous energy sources.”
