Rethink Coal Plant, Critics Urge: Environmentalists Take a Step Toward a Legal Challenge of Duke Energy's Plans

 

Apr 24 - The News & Observer

Five environmental groups have asked state regulators to reconsider a decision allowing Duke Energy to build a coal-fired electric plant west of Charlotte.

The N.C. Utilities Commission in February gave Duke a partial victory in its two-year fight to expand its capacity to generate electricity.

Regulators said that Duke could build an 800-megawatt coal plant at the Cliffside site near the South Carolina border. But they rejected a second, saying Duke failed to prove that it needed two coal plants.

Although advocacy groups applauded the ruling, they said in a filing Friday that regulators "misapprehended certain important facts and disregarded others."

Duke did not prove a single coal-fired plant was the best way to meet demand, the filing claims. The company should have evaluated other options, such as renewable energy or natural gas, the ruling states.

Advocacy groups also said that a Supreme Court decision this month undermined the utility commission's conclusions. The court effectively said that the U.S. government should regulate greenhouse gases.

More regulation could increase the cost of a coal plant, hurting ratepayers, the petition states.

The petition for reconsideration was filed with the utilities commission Friday on behalf of the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, Southern Environmental Law Center, Environmental Defense, N.C. Sustainable Energy Association and N.C. WARN.

Duke will pass along the cost of the plant to its customers.

The company estimates that the coal plant will cost $1.93 billion. However, advocacy groups say that that analysis "has gone from being deeply flawed to being entirely outdated."

Duke said that the petition for review was expected. It is the required first step before the commission's decision could be challenged in court.

"We will continue to evaluate this project and whether it makes good sense to our customers," Duke Energy spokeswoman Paige Sheehan said. The company will wait for any requests from the commission before weighing in on the petition.

For now, Duke is focused on finalizing cost estimates for the project and getting an air permit, Sheehan said.

The company received a draft permit last week from the state Division of Air Quality, but it must get through other hurdles before the permit is finalized.

Staff writer Jonathan B. Cox can be reached at (919) 836-4948 or jonathan.cox@newsobserver.com.

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