Climate 411

North Carolina can still avoid huge amounts of emissions (and stranded carbon emitting assets) under the state’s Carbon Plan Law. Here’s how.

By Will Scott, Southeast Climate and Clean Energy Director / Published: November 4, 2024

On November 1, the North Carolina Utilities Commission issued an order in the Carbon Plan docket, almost two months ahead of schedule. It largely ratifies an agreement reached by Duke Energy and the state’s Public Staff, who are charged with protecting the state’s ratepayers. While the Commission drops the requirement for Duke Energy to model hitting the 70% carbon emission reduction by 2030 in state law, largely due to a boom in electricity demand, the utility is still required to take “all reasonable steps” to hit the target by the “earliest possible date.” Which begs the question, what is the earliest possible date? A new white paper from EDF comes to the conclusion that North Carolina can still hit the target by 2032, even with the new carbon-emitting resources moving forward under this order.

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Posted in Cities and states, Economics, Energy, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, News / Authors: / Comments are closed

North Carolina Carbon Plan: Duke’s hydrogen plan is a mirage, but there are proven clean technologies available now to meet customer need

By Will Scott, Southeast Climate and Clean Energy Director / Published: July 3, 2024

On June 17, the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) was represented by our expert witnesses at a technical conference before the NC Utilities Commission (NCUC). Each of the intervenors in the Carbon Plan/Integrated Resource Plan docket, including EDF, were given a few minutes to briefly summarize testimony filed in May. EDF’s testimony centered around the need for Duke Energy to more aggressively leverage North Carolina’s offshore wind potential — the subject of this recent blog — and the fallacy of Duke’s hydrogen plans.

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North Carolina Carbon Plan: Why Duke’s gas bet is a risk to ratepayers and how offshore wind can carry the load

By Will Scott, Southeast Climate and Clean Energy Director / Published: June 17, 2024

On May 28, the Environmental Defense Fund, along with several other parties, filed expert testimony with the North Carolina Utilities Commission (NCUC) in North Carolina’s Carbon Plan proceeding. The outcome of these regulatory proceedings, which include hearings over the summer and a Commission order by end of year, will shape over $100 billion in long-term investments proposed by Duke Energy, and ultimately largely paid for by North Carolina electricity customers. This is a huge decision point for the state’s energy future, as I described in a recent op-ed published by NC Newsline.

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Posted in Cities and states, Economics, Energy, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Policy / Comments are closed

Duke Energy’s proposed investment in fossil fuels will leave customers with higher bills and more pollution

By Will Scott, Southeast Climate and Clean Energy Director / Published: December 12, 2023

In the last few years, North Carolinians have seen eye-popping electricity bills. Bill increase after bill increase has compounded, resulting in 20+ percent higher monthly bills for most ratepayers in our state. The main driver? The volatile cost of natural gas, which accounts for a larger and larger portion of the energy mix that North Carolinians depend on.

And yet, instead of curbing use of a risk-intensive fuel source that has had such a detrimental effect on customers, Duke Energy is proposing a huge investment to build even more gas power plants. Why? State policy guarantees Duke a profitable return on investment for its spending on infrastructure like power plants. The more costly the investment, the higher the return for the company and its shareholders.

There’s no free market for electricity in North Carolina. With no meaningful competitor to provide customers the option to choose a different energy provider, Duke dominates the market and the company’s expensive investment plans are entirely in line with what should be expected from a profit-seeking monopoly utility taking advantage of a captive customer-base.

North Carolinians deserve the facts about Duke’s decisions, how it impacts their lives and how their leaders can protect them. Here’s what you should know: 

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Posted in Cities and states / Comments are closed

Duke aims to miss state carbon reduction requirements in proposed Carbon Plan

By Will Scott, Southeast Climate and Clean Energy Director / Published: October 17, 2023

Photo credit: Duke Energy via Creative Commons

To comply with its carbon-reduction laws on the books and support healthier communities, North Carolina should be shifting its electricity sources from coal to lower-cost clean energy. But in its latest plan presented to the NC Utilities Commission in August, Duke Energy proposed a coal-to-gas transition – a shift that offers North Carolina households and families higher levels of harmful air pollution and exposure to electricity price spikes via volatile natural gas costs, when compared to the clean energy alternative.

According to a law approved by overwhelming bi-partisan legislative majorities in 2021, North Carolina must reduce its carbon pollution from the power sector 70% below 2005 levels by 2030 and reach carbon neutrality by 2050, supporting a necessary, statewide shift to a clean energy economy. Much of the specifics around getting to those goals, however, are left to the NC Utilities Commission to determine with input from stakeholders and utilities. Duke Energy, the largest utility in North Carolina, plays a major role in achieving those goals, and it must regularly submit updated plans to the Commission outlining how it intends to meet them.

In its first Carbon Plan submitted last year, which detailed different approaches for meeting those goals, Duke also proposed a major build-out of new gas power plants. And again, in its latest Carbon Plan/Integrated Resource Plan (CPIRP), Duke doubled-down on a concerning portfolio that proposes to:

  1. Miss the critical 2030 70% carbon reduction goal.
  2. Almost triple the amount of new gas build out.
  3. Delay offshore wind construction until the 2040s.

Here’s why the NC Utilities Commission should push Duke to submit a stronger plan that prioritizes renewables, not gas, and actually gets the state on track to meet its goals.

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Posted in Cities and states, Greenhouse Gas Emissions / Comments are closed