Letter to the Editor by Jim Warren. We’re asking the NC Court of Appeals to require an open, careful debate over Duke’s project. If Duke Energy is so uncertain about its case for the plant, its shareholders should bear any risks of proceeding with construction. And we’ll continue speaking out when state officials favor Duke Energy instead of the public interest.
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NC WARN, Climate Times told to put up $98M bond to appeal Duke power plant permit — The News & Observer
NC WARN, based in Durham, and Climate Times, based in Boone, planned to challenge the permit in court. The two groups say that natural gas, largely derived from fracking – an energy industry technique used to extract oil and gas from rock by injecting high-pressure mixtures of water, sand or gravel and chemicals – results in methane leaks that release more greenhouse gas into the atmosphere than burning coal does.
Future of Natural Gas Hinges on Stanching Methane Leaks — The New York Times
Regulators Hike Environmentalists’ Bond For Asheville Plant Appeal — WFAE
Regulators order $98M bond in Duke plant fight — News Release from NC WARN
By setting a $98 million bond in today’s order, the Utilities Commission again has wrongly attempted to block our access to the courthouse – and shield itself and Duke Energy from scrutiny over the approval of a new $1 billion power plant in Asheville that is unneeded, would rely on a shaky supply of shale gas, and would further speed the climate crisis.
Backroom Dealing Taints Yet Another Duke Energy Case — News Release from NC WARN
For at least the fifth straight time in a major Duke Energy case, state regulators have undermined any semblance of fair process – this time by cutting a backroom deal with the utility in a $6 billion merger with Piedmont Natural Gas even before receiving input from either the public or formal parties to the case. The NC Utilities Commission took the extra step this time of granting Duke’s request to disallow testimonies by two natural gas experts fielded by NC WARN and allies.
Duke Energy’s worrisome move to silence nonprofits — News & Observer
One of the most important roles that nonprofit organizations play in our society is that of values guardian… That Duke Energy wants two nonprofits to have to raise $240 million to challenge it in court shows how barriers can be erected to make it difficult for nonprofits to play this vital role. (Op-Ed by director of Institute for Nonprofits at NC State.)
Inside the first municipal solar-plus-storage project in the US — Utility Dive
Duke Energy’s planned power plant tied to fracking — Mountain Express
When Duke Energy announced it was canceling plans for a transmission line to a new plant in South Carolina, local environmentalists hailed it as a victory. The utility instead proposed two natural gas-powered units to replace the coal-fired generators at Lake Julian. But what wasn’t heard much during this feel-good narrative was a word that’s generated its own fair share of controversy in recent years: fracking.