NC WARN says Gov. Stein should be pushing the giant NC-based polluter
A globally prominent climate scientist is again speaking out against Duke Energy’s accelerating and massive expansion of fossil fuels and its suppression of renewable power. NC WARN has launched statewide ads asking why Governor Josh Stein isn’t pushing the Charlotte-based corporate giant that ranks among the world’s worst climate polluters.
In an April letter co-signed by 60 other scientists, Duke University’s Drew Shindell called for the governor to challenge the corporate monopoly’s continuing expansion of fossil fuels.
But far from curbing its dirty power, Duke Energy leaders have jacked up – by 35 percent – the amount of fracked gas-fired electricity generation it hopes to build in coming years. It now plans a massive 12,297 megawatts of new gas-fired power by 2040, and it has extended its use of coal for 15 more years, according to a regulatory filing on October 1.
Duke also proposes to build 16,000 MW of new but experimental nuclear generation. That’s equal to the power of some 20 Shearon Harris nuclear plants. And these plans come despite Duke’s record of 19 failures trying to build nuclear reactors, the lack of qualified reactor designs, and the industry’s insistence on billions in tax- and rate-payer subsidies.
On October 4, the Governor made a good first step by (somewhat quietly) criticizing Duke Energy’s latest plan to expand fossil fuels while suppressing solar and wind power.
But North Carolina and the nation need Gov. Stein to go much further and bolder. Communities across this state are being devastated by rising storms and power bills – and the climate crisis is accelerating.
“It is really an emergency that we change course as quickly as possible, which is what you do in an emergency … you do whatever it takes. We really need to use all the levers we can to push Duke Energy away from this fossil fuel path.”
That’s what Dr. Shindell says in a short documentary NC WARN will soon release. The new ad is a preview that began running this week on numerous traditional and social media platforms across NC.
Shindell and the 60 scientists are speaking out because changing a giant climate polluter will have positive global impacts.
Duke Energy’s leaders are helping hype the idea that data centers targeted for North Carolina will require a buildout of fracked-gas and nuclear power plants. That’s despite growing warnings by investment analysts of an impending “AI Bubble” that’s luring investment dollars into a scandal that could far eclipse the “Dot-Com” disaster of the late 1990s and be many times worse than the 2008 economic crash.
Duke Energy’s buildout of gas and nuclear could easily triple power bills over time, particularly because the latest nuclear plant built in the US is providing the most expensive electricity ever created. Duke is proposing so-called “small” and large reactors for sites including the Harris and Belews Creek power plants.
The climate situation is desperate – but not yet hopeless! This is why we’re pressing the Governor to inspire the entire world by using his powerful voice and authority. And it’s why over 200 businesses and nonprofits have already joined the call.
NC WARN is building statewide pressure for Gov. Stein to rein in Duke Energy’s reckless decision-makers. We’ve urged him to lead the installation of solar-plus-storage on emergency facilities – particularly in storm-prone areas – and to require maximum solar on all data centers.
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Now in its 37th year, NC WARN is building people power in the climate and energy justice movement to persuade or require Charlotte-based Duke Energy – one of the world’s largest climate polluters – to make a quick transition to renewable, affordable power generation and energy efficiency in order to avert climate tipping points and ongoing rate hikes.