Press release:
Groups Contest Duke Energy’s Application for New Gas-fired Plant
Regulators can’t let Duke skip full-blown review process based on senator’s gift
Statement by Director Jim Warren:
Durham, NC – State regulators must fully examine Duke Energy’s upcoming application to build a large gas-fired power plant or reject the plant. The project is already highly controversial and will grow more so as the public learns that the plant is not needed, that it would accelerate the climate crisis and would create the risk of soaring electricity rates due to the extreme volatility of natural gas supply and pricing.
NC WARN and The Climate Times filed a motion today with the NC Utilities Commission to intervene in the case following a Wednesday notice by Duke that it will file the application seeking approval for the Asheville plant on or after January 15.
We further moved that the “Commission establish a considered process for an evidentiary hearing to gather testimony and evidence on the proposed project OR IN THE ALTERNATIVE deny the application because the Commission, and parties, will be unable to investigate the costs and impacts of the proposed project if the Commission holds itself to a 45-day timeline.”
In a startling gift to Duke Energy, a new state law pushed through by Senator Tom Apodaca called for the NC Utilities Commission to approve the plant application within 45 days of its filing regardless of complexities. Such cases for billion-dollar projects often take many months and involve thousands of documents involving complex economic and technical issues.
The 45-day limit is arbitrary. The Commission can deem the application incomplete until an evidentiary hearing is conducted. Also, Duke Energy has the right to waive the 45-day limit in order to prove its case for the plant.
The plant would add nearly 800 megawatts of gas-fired generation capacity to service the western parts of both Carolinas, according to Duke’s preliminary notice. Duke has committed to closing two coal-fired units at the site, which provided power totaling 174 MW last year.
NC WARN and The Climate Times have already secured assistance from technical and economic experts – who need to be heard – along with outside attorneys.
As we have told the attorney general, Duke needs to rapidly phase out coal-fired plants, stop expanding fracked gas, and stop limiting the growth of renewables and efficiency measures that can truly decarbonize the Carolinas.
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See today’s motion by NC WARN and The Climate Times
McGrady: “The Mountain Energy Act of 2015 has been introduced to facilitate the conversion of a coal-fired power plant in south Buncombe County, adjoining my county (Henderson), my district, to natural gas. Normally, you wouldn’t need to worry about changing the law to allow this to happen, but this is sort of a special circumstance because this is one of the coal-fired plants that was deemed to be a high priority for cleanup — and, therefore, it was one of the plants that is still generating “wet ash” and was required to move to “dry ash” — also had an expedited removal of the ash from the ponds.
“Duke Energy, after looking at the issue, with some prodding from Senator Apodaca, decided that the better way to go here, actually, was to — rather than go from wet ash to dry ash — to move from coal to natural gas. And, to my knowledge, everybody supports what is going on here. It’s a win-win all respects.
“We’re going to be generating more power and not needing to import it. The air quality impacts are demonstrably better. And, so, we introduce this legislation to allow this to move forward.
“It does only two things: it first sets up an expedited process for the Public Utilities Commission to consider the application to make this conversion; and, two, it changes those provision in the Coal Ash Management Act, that we passed a year ago, to allow them more time — since they don’t need to move to dry ash — more time to remove the ash from the basins that are there. So, that’s what the bill does.
“The only change between the Senate bill and what’s before you is that the Senate bill had no provisions for notice or any public hearing, and I felt like that was probably a bad precedent, so we have added back in a provision for public notice and a public hearing that would be held in the Buncombe County area. And, to my knowledge, again, the Utilities Commission’s staff has worked with us on this, Duke Energy has worked on this, a range of environmental organizations, and I believe they’re all supportive, and particularly supportive and are comfortable with the provision we’ve added with respect to public notice and public hearing.
“And I’ve actually told the Senator these were being included and the fact that I’m standing up here tells you that he has no problem with what is being put forward. So, I would ask you to give the bill a favorable recommendation and I’m certainly available to take any questions.”
bit.ly/1TeRbMI
McGrady: “The Mountain Energy Act of 2015 has been introduced to facilitate the conversion of a coal-fired power plant in south Buncombe County, adjoining my county (Henderson), my district, to natural gas. Normally, you wouldn’t need to worry about changing the law to allow this to happen, but this is sort of a special circumstance because this is one of the coal-fired plants that was deemed to be a high priority for cleanup — and, therefore, it was one of the plants that is still generating “wet ash” and was required to move to “dry ash” — also had an expedited removal of the ash from the ponds.
“Duke Energy, after looking at the issue, with some prodding from Senator Apodaca, decided that the better way to go here, actually, was to — rather than go from wet ash to dry ash — to move from coal to natural gas. And, to my knowledge, everybody supports what is going on here. It’s a win-win all respects.
“We’re going to be generating more power and not needing to import it. The air quality impacts are demonstrably better. And, so, we introduce this legislation to allow this to move forward.
“It does only two things: it first sets up an expedited process for the Public Utilities Commission to consider the application to make this conversion; and, two, it changes those provision in the Coal Ash Management Act, that we passed a year ago, to allow them more time — since they don’t need to move to dry ash — more time to remove the ash from the basins that are there. So, that’s what the bill does.
“The only change between the Senate bill and what’s before you is that the Senate bill had no provisions for notice or any public hearing, and I felt like that was probably a bad precedent, so we have added back in a provision for public notice and a public hearing that would be held in the Buncombe County area. And, to my knowledge, again, the Utilities Commission’s staff has worked with us on this, Duke Energy has worked on this, a range of environmental organizations, and I believe they’re all supportive, and particularly supportive and are comfortable with the provision we’ve added with respect to public notice and public hearing.
“And I’ve actually told the Senator these were being included and the fact that I’m standing up here tells you that he has no problem with what is being put forward. So, I would ask you to give the bill a favorable recommendation and I’m certainly available to take any questions.”
bit.ly/1TeRbMI
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