Duke Energy Carolinas & Progress saw a slight improvement in the Sierra Club's Dirty Truth report card this year, but its score could regress if the utility follows through on its short-sighted plans to add new gas-burning power plants and burn more coal.
Duke Energy Carolinas & Progress earned 0% (F) in the inaugural Dirty Truth report in 2021. Its score improved incrementally to 28% (D) in 2024.
The Sierra Club's fourth annual Dirty Truth About Utility Climate Pledges was released nationwide on Oct. 9. Details for North Carolina have been delayed to now out of respect for our staff and communities dealing with the devastation caused by climate-fueled Hurricane Helene. As our colleagues and their neighbors dig out and rebuild, we're just now distributing the report to emphasize the important role Duke Energy must accept in fighting climate-driven disasters.
Utility scores are determined based on their plans in three areas: 1) commitments to retire coal by 2030, 2) plans to build gas through 2035, and 3) plans to build or purchase clean energy by 2035. The score is on a scale of 0 to 100, with a utility earning points by committing to retire coal and adding clean energy and losing points by adding new gas. In an interactive webpage, users can see their utility’s score and what progress – if any – the utility has made toward transitioning to cleaner, more affordable energy since the first report card.
Duke’s incremental improvement in the Dirty Truth scorecard could be wiped away by increasing electric demand from data centers, similar to what’s happening in Virginia.
“The explosive demand for electricity from data centers and advanced manufacturing means that we need safeguards for North Carolina utility customers and our environment now, because what’s happening in Virginia should be a warning, not a model, for our state,” said Mikaela Curry, campaign manager with Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal Campaign. “We need data center owners, especially those with climate goals, to use their influence to clean the electric grid for everyone, not just sign agreements with Duke for existing nuclear power while the residential customer share of the electric pie gets dirtier and dirtier.”
The North Carolina Utilities Commission opened the door for additional pollution when it made the surprise decision late on Friday, Nov. 2, to approve the monopoly utility’s energy plan, enabling Duke to bypass state law that requires carbon emissions reductions of 70 percent by 2030. Methane is a potent greenhouse gas, and the primary component of “natural gas,” which directly escapes into the atmosphere when extracted through fracking and transported to power plants.
Meanwhile, the share of residential electricity powered by fossil fuels could go up if Duke sells clean energy contracts from its existing nuclear operations to data center owners to meet their own clean energy goals. The Sierra Club recently released a framework for how data centers, utilities, and various stakeholders can address increased demand with clean energy. And Duke knows clean energy works: Its solar-based microgrid in Hot Springs was brought back online swiftly after Helene compared to other impacted communities.
“Duke is one of the most influential utilities in the entire country, and if the CEO Lynn Good decides to throw the utility’s weight behind the clean energy we need to minimize near-term climate disasters, people in business and government will listen,” said Olive Burress, North Carolina Beyond Coal Campaign Organizer. “North Carolina communities, urban and rural, must work together to show Duke that clean, reliable energy is as good for our state and our climate as it is for Duke's shareholders.”