Duke plans to cut coal by 2050, will cling to dangerous nukes, dirty fracked gas

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Duke Energy has a released a report showing that the company plans to stop burning coal by 2050, and will instead relicense its nuclear plants and continue expanding its fracked gas infrastructure.

Duke’s outdated vision will lock North Carolina into dirty, dangerous fuels for generations to come, instead of taking full advantage of the state’s tremendous clean energy potential. The Tar Heel state currently ranks #2 in the nation for solar, outpacing even sun-drenched states like Arizona and Nevada.

Yet, Duke keeps raising electric bills to keep families and businesses on the hook to pay for its toxic coal ash mess, and to keep building out a dangerous fracked gas infrastructure that threatens our air, water and climate.

A Cleaner Energy Plan, released by the Sierra Club last year, shows how Duke Energy could save North Carolina ratepayers hundreds of dollars by stopping investments in fossil fuels and investing in energy efficiency, wind, solar and storage instead.

In response, Dave Rogers, representative for the Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal Campaign in North Carolina, released the following statement:

“It’s great that Duke admits coal needs to go away, but their plan is far too slow and relies too much on dangerous, expensive, dirty fuels.

“While most studies show we need to entirely eliminate coal generated electricity by 2030 to avoid the worst impacts from climate change, Duke’s plan would have us still getting almost one-fifth of our power from that 20th century energy source. Duke should pursue the cleanest, safest, cheapest energy options first—and those options don’t include dirty fossil fuels.

“Duke’s plan estimates that it will only generate 23 percent of its power from renewables by 2050, an amount places like California are already surpassing today. They also underestimate the role advancements in energy efficiency, demand response and storage can have in eliminating the need to build expensive, new power plants.

“This plan is a big missed opportunity for Duke to be an environmental leader and a good corporate citizen—and it’s possible to be both. Duke should redirect its focus on nukes and fossil fuels into accelerating our transition to 100 percent clean, renewable energy like wind and solar, which is the only way to prevent further climate disruption and to protect our environment and communities.”