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.
Duke Energy was about 6% renewable* in the Carolinas in 2020.
So, the nation’s leading climate-polluting power provider is producing less than one-third the national average in clean power.
Duke’s latest greenwashing is a WUNC Radio ad claiming the energy giant is “adding renewables.” That’s technically correct but a horrendous half-truth; its latest 15-year plan projects Duke getting to 15%* by 2035 – far below today’s national average.
Dominating Duke Energy’s 15-year plan, instead, is its climate-busting proposal to build over 50 gas-burning power units in the Carolinas – at an unspecified number of new or existing sites. Thus, Duke is blatantly misleading the public about its climate record.
Duke also misled the NC Utilities Commission by providing data that NC WARN has shown was apparently rigged to justify building the 50 plants and constantly raising rates.
HOLD DUKE ENERGY ACCOUNTABLE: Duke’s greenhouse gas emissions are accelerating the weather disasters already devastating our communities.
NC WARN urges the NC news media to hold Duke Energy leaders accountable for the continuing deceptions that are hampering crucial efforts to avert runaway climate chaos.
*These numbers include hydropower because the US Energy Information Administration counts it as renewable. NC WARN has elsewhere reported Duke’s renewables as 5% in 2020 and 14% projected for 2035, including only solar and wind.
