Edward Smith, edward.smith@sierraclub.org
RALEIGH, N.C. – Today, Sierra Club released its sixth Dirty Truth Report. The report grades 76 utilities across the country based on how much coal they are retiring, how much gas they are planning to build, and how much renewable energy they are adding.
Duke Energy Carolinas & Duke Energy Progress earned 13% (F), while Duke Energy earned 12% (F) for all of its operations throughout the country, which include Indiana and Florida.
The aggregate score nationwide decreased eight points, falling to 7 out of 100 possible points and its lowest level in the report’s history. Utilities around the country are choosing to power data centers with expensive fossil fuels instead of affordable clean energy, including in North Carolina.
“Duke is increasingly out of alignment with the needs of families and business throughout North Carolina,” said Chris Herndon, Sierra Club Chapter Director in North Carolina. “Duke is choosing dirty energy for tech companies to power their data centers, and we’re stuck paying for it with higher monthly bills and poor air quality. It’s good to see more political leaders finally take a stand against Duke’s backward priorities, but we need everyone in the state who cares about affordability and a healthy environment to tell the utility's regulators at the NCUC that enough is enough.”
Examples of Duke’s poor utility decisions include accepting taxpayer money from the Trump administration to prop up the expensive and dirty Belews Creek coal plant and taking a buyout for its offshore wind lease, ending any chance of a future project and associated benefits. Duke Energy’s CEO, Harry Sideris, cheered on the Trump administration just last week when it proposed to repeal the Endangerment Finding, which tracks with the utility’s goal of weakening public health safeguards at coal plants throughout the country.
The Associated Press evaluated the impact of the Trump EPA’s rules rollbacks for coal and gas plants, finding the targeted rules could “prevent an estimated 30,000 deaths and save $275 billion each year they are in effect.” The Sierra Club tracks how North Carolina coal plants have escaped pollution reduction measures under the Trump administration.
Renewable energy remains the cheapest way to generate electricity, while fossil fuels remain expensive and extremely harmful to public health. Despite this, the Dirty Truth Report shows Duke is doubling down on dangerous, expensive fossil fuels. This means higher bills for families, more dangerous pollution and less reliable energy.
The full report is available on the Dirty Truth website or here.
“The Dirty Truth report has once again revealed utilities’ overwhelming failure to plan a phase-out of their expensive and dirty fossil fuel infrastructure, and transition to clean energy,” said Sierra Club Chief Program Officer Holly Bender. “Every year that utilities drag their feet on the clean energy transition is another year where families pay record bills for expensive fossil fuels, another year of extreme weather events, and another year of air and water pollution threatening our health. We cannot afford to wait any longer to bring our grid into the 21st century. As artificial intelligence data centers drive demand for energy, utility companies are rushing to expensive and dangerous fossil fuels, leading to soaring electricity prices and worsening air pollution. The time is now for these companies to transition to affordable, reliable, clean energy to build a healthier and more sustainable energy future. The Sierra Club will continue to push utilities to deploy more renewable energy and work to lower costs and emissions.”
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.