Photo courtesy of Caroline Hansley
For months, Duke Energy’s hubris has been catching up with it.
The massive fracked gas Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP), which the utility once talked about as a done deal, has faced multiple legal challenges: Seven federal permits have been stayed, suspended, or vacated, leading to a growing suspicion that the project will never be completed.
Ever since the 600-mile pipeline was proposed four years ago, communities along its route and beyond have opposed it. Now, with the project two years behind schedule and more than $2 billion over budget, Duke CEO Lynn Good concedes that the company is considering a “Plan B” if the ACP can’t move forward soon. Good suggests Duke could simply choose to run another fracked gas pipeline from eastern to western North Carolina—but there’s much more to the story than that.
A lot has changed since the ACP was first proposed.
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There is even more evidence that fracked gas is simply not needed to meet energy demand in the Southeast. Even long-term plans by ACP co-owner Dominion Energy admit we don’t need more gas.
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More evidence of the environmental harm building the pipeline would cause has emerged, ranging from additional sightings of endangered species in the pipeline’s path to the repeated water-quality violations caused by construction of the nearby Mountain Valley Pipeline.
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Residents, local activists, and grassroots groups continue to fight the project, including community-led groups to monitor construction and hold the builders accountable.
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The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality is pushing back on the need for more fracked gas.
Duke needs to be looking for truly sustainable options for our communities. To avoid severe negative health effects, polluted water, and the worst impacts of climate change, Duke must abandon its dirty fossil fuel projects and invest in the clean, renewable energy sources that are already abundant and affordable. The people have spoken out loud and clear: We don’t want this—or any other—pipeline.