Duke’s new energy plans show that coal is a bad bet, but the utility is still willing to gamble on fracked gas

RALEIGH, N.C. — Duke Energy has filed its long-term energy plans with state regulators, laying out options that could bring an end to most coal burning by 2030, but that still envision decades of dependence on dangerous fracked gas.

The plans are the first look at how Duke plans to provide power to millions of customers in North and South Carolina since being ordered to clean up nearly 80 million tons of toxic coal ash from unlined dumps in the Tar Heel state, in the largest cleanup of its type in U.S. history, and also since the collapse of plans to build the multi-billion dollar Atlantic Coast Pipeline. 

It’s also the first deep dive into how Duke wants to move forward since publishing its climate report earlier this year, and as North Carolina approaches the two-year anniversary of the governor's call for a Clean Energy Plan. Both Duke’s plan and North Carolina’s aim to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. 

One thing is clear in Duke’s new filings: coal is an economic loser that burdens customers with high costs. While Duke proposes to shutter the majority of its coal plants by 2030, the company notes a scenario in which it could keep burning coal at a few sites until 2049. 

Ditching coal—which poisons our air, water and climate—makes sense for families and businesses, our environment and for Duke’s bottom line. But even as Duke proposes steps to move away from coal, the utility is still undervaluing the full benefits of clean energy and is still making dangerous bets on fracked gas.

Fracked gas is not clean. Methane, the primary ingredient in fracked gas, is a greenhouse gas 87 times more potent than carbon dioxide over its first 20 years in the atmosphere. The climate-damaging impacts from methane and carbon dioxide emitted by extracting, transporting and burning all fossil fuels clearly show the urgent need for a swift transition away from all fossil fuels toward safe, abundant resources like wind and solar. 

In response to Duke’s filings, Dave Rogers, Southeast deputy regional campaign director for the Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal campaign, said, “It's good that Duke seems to finally be starting to recognize that clean energy resources, including storage, can deliver low-cost energy for customers today. But any plan to burn coal until 2039 and build a bunch of fracked gas plants is a disaster for both the climate and Duke's customers' budgets. It's time to move away from coal and gas and invest in things like energy efficiency, wind, solar and storage so we can clean up our air and water and save money at the same time.”

Will Harlan, senior representative for the Beyond Coal campaign in North and South Carolina, added, “In this filing, Duke acknowledges that its coal fleet is uneconomic and unnecessary. State regulators should require Duke to retire all of its coal plants over the next decade, instead of continuing to pollute communities, raise customers' rates and harm everyone's health.”