Duke Energy - Environmental Record

Environmental Record

In 1999 the United States Environmental Protection Agency commenced an enforcement action against Duke Energy for making modifications to very old and deteriorating coal-burning power plants without getting permits under the Clean Air Act. Duke asserted that a "modification" under the Clean Air Act did not require a permit. Environmental groups asserted that Duke was using loopholes in the law to increase emissions. Initially, Duke prevailed at the trial court level, but in 2006 the case was argued before the Supreme Court (Environmental Defense v. Duke Energy Corp. (05-848)). The Court unanimously ruled on April 2, 2007 that the modifications allowed the power plants to operate for more hours, increasing emissions, so Clean Air Act permits were needed.

In 2002, researchers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst identified Duke Energy as the 46th-largest corporate producer of air pollution in the United States, with roughly 36 million pounds of toxic chemicals released annually into the air. Major pollutants included sulfuric and hydrochloric acid, chromium compounds, and hydrogen fluoride. The Political Economy Research Institute ranks Duke Energy 13th among corporations emitting airborne pollutants in the United States. The ranking is based on the quantity (80 million pounds in 2005) and toxicity of the emissions. This change reflects the purchase of fossil fuel-heavy Cinergy, which occurred in 2005.

In early 2008, Duke Energy announced a plan to build the new, 800-megawatt Cliffside Unit 6 coal plant 55 miles (89 km) west of Charlotte, North Carolina. The plan has been strongly opposed by environmental groups such as Rising Tide North America, Rainforest Action Network, the community-based Canary Coalition as well as the Southern Environmental Law Center, which has threatened to sue Duke if it does not halt construction plans. On April 1, activists locked themselves to machinery at the Cliffside construction area as part of Fossil Fools Day.

Duke Energy has been "one of the most vocal advocates" for a "cap-and-trade" system to combat global CO₂ emissions, "and the company's CEO, Jim Rogers, thinks the company will profit from cap-and-trade". The company left the National Association of Manufacturers in part over differences on climate policy.

In February, 2010 Duke Energy became embroiled in a battle with the Cherokee Indians over its attempts to build an electrical substation on the sacred Kituwah ceremonial mounds. The Cherokee Tribal Council passed a resolution stating, "It is this Tribe's solemn responsibility and moral duty to care for and protect all of Kituwah from further desecration and degradation by human agency in order to preserve the integrity of the most important site for the origination and continuation of Cherokee culture, heritage, history and identity." On March 9, 2010, Duke Energy agreed to a 90 day moratorium on construction of the substation.

In a joint venture with the French based global energy firm AREVA, under the nominal name of ADAGE, Duke Energy has planned a "Green" biomass burning facility in mason County Washington, and is negotiating with forestland owners to secure the 600,000 tons of wood debris it needs yearly to fuel its $250 million biomass plant. The joint venture between electric power company Duke Energy and global nuclear services giant AREVA was created to build wood waste-to-energy power plants around the country.

ADAGE president Reed Wills announced the first Northwest outpost will be in the struggling timber town of Shelton, Washington.

The following pollutants are provided by DUKE-AREVA-ADAGE in their application for permit to the Department of Environmental Protection for a similar type of plant in Florida.

• 247 tons per year – particulate matter
• 239 tons per year – particulate matter 10
• 233 tons per year – particulate matter 2.5
• 249 tons per year – NO_x (nitrogen oxides)
• 246 tons per year – SO₂ (sulfur dioxide)
• 248 tons per year – CO (carbon monoxide)
• 40 tons per year – H₂SO₄ – (sulfuric acid mist)
• 63 tons per year – VOC (volatile organic compounds)
• 29 tons per year – F (fluorides)