Duke leaders keep conning the public with new greenwashing ads. New federal data show that nearly 20% of U.S. electricity* generation in 2020 came from renewable power – up from the earlier figure of 18% cited in NC WARN’s ongoing ad campaign.
Methane, Fracked Gas & Climate
Methane (the main component in natural gas) is 100 times as bad for the climate as carbon dioxide over the short term. Less CO2 is emitted by natural gas than by coal when burned. But significant leakage of methane before burning makes gas a disaster for the climate, as revealed even more by recent science. Yet utilities and the gas industry are still feverishly promoting fracked gas.
NC WARN is working hard to connect the dots between climate change, methane leakage and the fracking boom that is driven by demand from the electric power industry.
Learn more about our methane work here.
Watch a 3-minute video by Cornell University’s Dr. Robert Howarth describing why natural gas is a disastrous strategy for the climate. More videos, PowerPoints and documentation here.
“Everything You Need to Know About Methane”, a primer by Earthjustice.
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Financial rationale for Mountain Valley Pipeline has evaporated in changing market — IEEFA
Falling demand, legal and regulatory challenges spell financial peril for pipeline project.
Climate watchdogs challenge Duke Energy’s polluting 15-year plan — Facing South
Date on which the North Carolina Utilities Commission (NCUC) will hold a public hearing about Duke Energy’s latest Integrated Resource Plan (IRP), a biennial blueprint for how the company intends to generate electricity for the next 15 climate-critical years: 3/16/2021
Watchdog accuses Duke energy of misleading state regulators — WXII
Great TV story exposing Duke Energy on bogus data given to regulators to justify building 50 gas-fired power units. The public hearing is actually March 16.
Duke Energy Faces Challenges to its Push for New Natural Gas Plants — GreentechMedia
Duke Energy’s plan to build gigawatts of new natural gas generators to supply its grid over the next 15 years has already drawn fire from clean energy advocates, who say it violates the utility’s long-range decarbonization goals and could leave customers paying for power plants that can’t economically compete with cleaner alternatives.
Legal Challenge: Duke Energy Plans Would Supersize Climate Pollution, Waste Billions on Unused Power Plants — News Release
NC WARN and the Center for Biological Diversity have filed a legal challenge to Duke Energy’s plan to build scores of gas-fired power plants in the Carolinas even though huge amounts of excess generation already sit unused even during the worst winter weather.
See coverage by WXII
Duke Energy gets an ‘F’ from environmental group — WXII
Critics say that Duke’s plan for the next 15 years is heading in the wrong direction. Climate and Energy Watchdog Jim Warren, who heads NC WARN calls Duke’s utility plan “Ruinous.”
Research Ranks Duke Energy Worst Climate Offender among U.S. Power Providers — News Release from NC WARN
Worst on coal. Worst on expanding fracked gas. Worst on renewables vs fossil fuels. Worst on wasting billions on power plants that must close decades before they’re paid for
See coverage by WXII
Report Card: Duke’s 15-year energy resource plans fail to serve the public interest — News Release
A coalition of over a dozen Carolina-based and national clean energy and environmental justice nonprofit organizations issued a report card that finds Duke Energy Carolinas’ and Duke Energy Progress’ 2020 Integrated Resource Plans fall short of the coalition’s principles for a plan in the public interest.
New energy report could yield a win-win for climate and pocketbooks — NC Policy Watch
Op-Ed by Sally Robertson. COVID taught us a lot about living in crisis mode. The biggest lesson: Address crises early enough to avoid a complete disruption of our lives. Let’s start with the climate crisis.