NC WARN Executive Director Jim Warren was a guest on Charlotte Talks, the local talk show of NPR member station WFAE. He deftly countered Duke Energy’s corporate PR weasel-wording. It was a lively and feisty discussion that finally got the debate over North Carolina’s energy future out in the open. We need more of this, so push the other media you rely on to delve into these critical issues.
The future of energy is not coal, but one that includes bio fuels, solar, wind and battery storage. Duke Energy has plans for all those and a goal of generating 8,000 megawatts of renewable energy by 2020. They also plan to spend upwards of 500 million dollars on battery storage in the next 15 years.
Some groups such as NC Warn say that even with these measures Duke Energy is not doing enough to move us towards a more sustainable energy future. NC Warn has also campaigned to move us away from a single company power provider market, saying that competition against companies like Duke Energy would result in lower prices, and more sustainable energy sources.
We hear from both sides of the argument, to discuss what the future of energy will look like, and what the pros and cons of a competitive energy market might be.
GUESTS
- Randy Wheeless, communications manager, Duke Energy
- David Boraks, environmental reporter, WFAE
- Jim Warren, executive director, NC WARN
- Peter Schwarz, economist professor, UNC Charlotte
