Last year Duke Energy acquired Piedmont Natural Gas … a marker of the energy industry’s shift toward using natural gas to produce electricity. Supporters of natural gas say it is cheaper and burns cleaner than coal. But critics argue that methane leaks during storage and transportation, which can accelerate global warming.
Duke Energy Gas Expansion
Duke Energy is planning a massive increase in its burning of natural gas to produce electricity. This would be a climate disaster because of the large amounts of super-potent methane that leak unburned from gas operations, particularly fracking. Recent science from the United Nations and others show that new gas infrastructure is incompatible with the goal of preventing catastrophic climate change. Read more here and in the news items below about NC WARN’s work to block Duke’s fracking gas future.
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In delaying recommendation, Duke University subcommittee concerned about “credibility” problem with new natural gas plant — NC Policy Watch
For a university that has always been protective of its global reputation, contributing to global greenhouse gases through a natural gas plant is no way to burnish that image. That’s one of the conclusions of a Duke University Campus Sustainability Subcommittee, which released a report on a proposed combined heat-and- power natural gas plant today.
Duke University puts off proposed Duke Energy power plant — Charlotte Business Journal
Duke University has delayed a vote by its trustees on the controversial $55 million combined heat-and-power plant that Duke Energy has proposed building on the campus.
Duke delays asking trustees for vote on power plant — Herald Sun
Plans for a gas-turbine power plant at Duke University ran into another delay Tuesday, with administrators saying they’ll hold off on asking campus trustees to green-light the $55 million project.
Groups Contest Fracked Gas Pipeline by Duke Energy and Dominion — News Release from NC WARN
More than 20 citizen groups and statewide nonprofits told federal regulators late yesterday that the environmental review process for a proposed $5.6 billion fracked gas pipeline is incomplete, fatally flawed and that it unlawfully represents a moving target due to continuing, sweeping additions by Dominion and Duke Energy.
Duke University eyes biogas, not fossil fuels, for new power plant — Southeast Energy News
In the latest twist on the controversial power plant Duke University proposed last spring, an influential group of students, faculty and staff says it should be fueled from methane captured from hog waste, not natural gas.
House Bill 467 stinks — News & Observer
Think of waking up in the morning and stepping outside to get a breath of fresh air, but instead get hit with the stench of hog waste. This is life in Duplin County, which is not just where I live, it is my home.
Duke researchers warn of methane’s dangers, while the university presses for a new natural gas plant — NC Policy Watch
The scientists who work on climate issues at the Nicholas School of the Environment at Duke University belong to an esteemed crowd. Their studies on the environmental, economic and public health perils of fracked natural gas have been featured in major peer-reviewed journals. Their findings on the role of methane leaks from natural gas in harming human health and driving climate change have earned the school scientific renown… And yet Duke University is proposing to build a $55 million, 21-megawatt natural gas plant on West Campus.
As neighbors complain of foul odors, NC lawmakers delay bill to protect hog farmers — News & Observer
North Carolina lawmakers put off voting Wednesday on a bill that would protect the state’s hog farmers from lawsuits filed by their neighbors over the odors and illnesses they say are caused by hog waste.
Activists want voice as Duke University considers campus power plant — News & Observer
Activists from two environmental groups faulted Duke University for not being more transparent in its handling of a proposal to build a gas-turbine power plant on campus. But at a forum Monday at Duke, representatives of the National Resources Defense Council and N.C. Waste Awareness and Reduction Network made clear they also want a seat at the table in the university’s in-house debate about whether to build the 21-megawatt facility in cooperation with the state’s primary electric company, Duke Energy.