We’re happy to report that Chatham County commissioners just made a move toward solarizing county-owned facilities based on a recommendation by local residents working together as Chatham Clean Path.
See coverage in Chatham County Line
See coverage in Chatham Record
Articles & News Releases
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Natural Gas Drillers Are Fighting for Their Lives — Bloomberg
Critics contend Duke Energy’s new community solar plan more costly to customers — Charlotte Business Journal
Solar advocates who objected to Duke Energy Corp.’s initial proposal for a new community solar program don’t like the revised program much better and are calling on regulators to require more changes or reject it. “The revised plan is a significantly worse program than the initial program,” says the N.C. Sustainable Energy Association, contending the new proposal would be much more costly to customers than the original version.
Duke’s Community Solar Program was Designed to Fail, Would Gouge Customers, Should be Ditched — News Release From NC WARN
Duke Energy’s proposed “community solar” proposal would cause participating customers to lose 51 percent of their investment and would take five years to implement. The program is clearly designed to fail and is further proof that the Charlotte-based corporation prefers to stifle and delay – not advance – clean energy.
See coverage in Charlotte Business Journal
Solar & Batteries To Power London’s First ‘Virtual Power Station’ — Clean Technica
UK Power Networks, which supplies electricity to over 8 million homes and businesses across the South East and East of England, as well as the City of London, announced its plan to create a ‘virtual power station’ last week, intending to use solar panels and a fleet of batteries at approximately 40 homes across the London Borough of Barnet.
Duke Energy Profits from Execs’ Major Blunders — News Release from NC WARN
The NC Utilities Commission ordered this state’s Duke Energy Carolinas customers to pay $545 million for coal ash negligence and $347 million for the utility’s 13-year, failed effort to begin construction of twin nuclear reactors – a project now cancelled. Even more shameful is that the commission granted Duke a roughly 10 percent mark-up on the coal ash mistake by corporate execs, just as it did in the Duke Progress case earlier this year.
New York unveils roadmap to 1.5 GW storage by 2025 — Utility Dive
The state is working on establishing a 2030 storage target by the end of the year, as it looks to pair storage with renewable electricity generation to further the state’s clean energy and climate goals. Under Cuomo’s Reforming the Energy Vision strategy, the state is aiming for 50% renewable energy generation by 2030. New York also aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 40% by 2030 and 80% by 2050, both compared to 1990 levels.
Duke CEO Promised Investors $16 Billion in Grid Upgrades – On Top of Multiple Rate Hikes for Gas Plants and Coal Ash — News Release from NC WARN
Duke Energy CEO Lynn Good recently promised investors they could count on “multiple rate cases” in both of the corporation’s Carolinas service areas beginning next year – to fund seemingly endless construction of fracked gas power plants and clean-up of coal ash. Separately, she promised to boost rates and profits via a $16 billion electric “grid modernization” scheme that an expert for the NC Sustainable Energy Association (NCSEA) testified could, on its own, raise residential rates by up to 50 percent.
More Groups Blast Duke Energy’s Last-Minute Rate Deal — News Release from NC WARN
Duke Energy’s proposed side deal at the 11th hour of an already controversial rate case continues drawing opposition from consumer watchdogs, industrial customers, tech giants and environmental groups. It appears the vaguely worded deal could bring an initial rate hike of 26 percent over the first three years – while becoming a perpetual tax on customers.
Antarctic ice loss has tripled in a decade. If that continues, we are in serious trouble. — The Washington Post
Antarctica’s ice sheet is melting at a rapidly increasing rate, now pouring more than 200 billion tons of ice into the ocean annually and raising sea levels a half-millimeter every year, a team of 80 scientists reported Wednesday. The melt rate has tripled in the past decade, the study concluded. If the acceleration continues, some of scientists’ worst fears about rising oceans could be realized, leaving low-lying cities and communities with less time to prepare than they had hoped.