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's 15-Year Plan
Duke Energy’s Integrated Resource Plans (IRPs) are the 15-year plans the corporation must submit to the NC Utilities Commission every 2 years. From 2013 to 2015, NC WARN published A Responsible Energy Future for North Carolina, a clean alternative to Duke’s IRPs. In 2017, engineer Bill Powers analyzed the state’s electricity generation and proposed a cleaner path. Learn more about Bill’s NC Clean Path 2025 report. In 2021, Bill reviewed Duke’s IRPs, finding cost distortions and misleading reports of how much power is available — all serving to advance Duke’s case for building new gas at a time when climate change demands rapid decarbonization and when solar paired with storage is beating gas on both economics and reliability. Learn more and tell the Commission to reject Duke’s 2020 IRP.
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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.
Add 16 GW solar, 10 GW storage in North Carolina, says alternative resource plan — pv magazine
Duke Energy’s “flawed modeling assumptions” for its 2020 North Carolina resource plan favor new natural gas capacity over new renewables and storage, and the utility’s resource scenarios are “not least-cost,” says a regulatory filing from the North Carolina Sustainable Energy Association and the Carolinas Clean Energy Business Association.
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.
Watchdog Coalition To Hold Duke Energy Accountable for Environmental and Economic Injustice — News Release from The Environmental Working Group
A coalition of public interest, environmental and economic justice organizations will convene the first-ever hearing to examine Duke Energy’s policies and practices, which have polluted and financially punished its low-income ratepayers and communities of color throughout its vast six-state service area.