Photo courtesy of Rahul Durai
When I was in sixth grade, representatives from Duke Energy came to my elementary school to "greenwash"—making misleading claims about the company's environmental values to cover up its harmful practices.
Our school administrators called all of the students together for an assembly where the Duke representatives talked about energy efficiency and climate change, claiming Duke is an environmentally conscious company.
However, as I have gotten older, I have seen the dirty truth about Duke Energy. Whenever we organize for a transition from fossil fuels, Duke Energy stands in our way.
The truth is that Duke is the largest consumer of coal in Indiana: Over 90 percent of its energy comes from coal.1 Duke's coal plants fuel the climate crisis and harm Hoosiers in surrounding communities. Duke also has extensive control over our state government, as more than 70 percent of Indiana's legislators have taken money from Duke.2
Fossil fuel companies like Duke are depriving Hoosiers of a future. They are depriving us of an economy with sustainable jobs, clean air to breathe, and a climate to survive in. But we can change that if we rise up and fight for a livable Indiana!
Can you sign and share our petition to demand Duke to fully transition to renewable energy by 2030?
This year, Duke is drafting its 20-year energy plan, making this the perfect time to demand a transition from dirty coal to clean energy like wind, solar, and energy storage.
We will win this transition by organizing a movement of Hoosiers, and we need you to be a part of it!
1. Rod Walton, "Duke Indiana unit plans to add gas, keep some coal-fired capacity into 2040s," Power Engineering, June 24, 2019.
2. Rahul Durai, "Indiana legislators who take money from Duke Energy," Confront the Climate Crisis, Jan. 4, 2021.