Duke Energy’s plan to delay vital carbon emissions goal is accepted

The North Carolina Utilities Commission approved Duke’s bid to slow roll a state mandated requirement to address climate change.

The North Carolina Utilities Commission, whose mission is to “provide fair regulation of public utilities in the interest of the public,” has approved Duke Energy’s bid to delay its state-mandated responsibility to significantly reduce carbon emissions by 2030.

The carbon emissions produced by the burning of fossil fuels are the biggest driver of human-caused climate change, a deadly and multi-billion dollar threat each year in North Carolina.

Under a bipartisan law passed in 2021, and as part of Gov. Roy Cooper’s plan to make the state carbon neutral by 2050, Duke Energy, one of the biggest utilities in the country, is required to take several steps to help the state achieve these goals. 

Duke, the law said, has to reduce its emissions by 70% by 2030 and become carbon neutral along with the rest of the state by 2050. Duke is also required to release a detailed plan of their progress every two years.

Under the new plan, Duke can push the 2030 deadline until at least 2032. Duke is still required to hit that metric as soon as possible, the commission said. 

The 2021 law gave Duke several delay options if the efforts to reduce emissions threatened “the adequacy and reliability of the existing [power] grid.” In its ruling, the commission accepted Duke’s claims that to keep to the original deadline would in fact strain the current system.

“We believe this is a constructive outcome that allows us to deploy increasingly clean energy resources at a pace that protects affordability and reliability for our customers,” Duke said in a statement last month

Duke’s delay, however, “abandons” the state emissions requirement, environmental groups say, and tries to run out the clock when there is little time left to adequately address climate change.

“At a moment in time when North Carolinians are still dealing with the climate change fueled impacts from Hurricane Helene, we’re disappointed that state regulators approved Duke’s energy plan that would massively increase gas-burning power plant investments and will expose every single customer to volatile gas prices and more pollution,” David Rogers, a North Carolina based director with the Sierra Club, said in a statement. 

“Duke’s plan isn’t even compliant with the latest EPA regulations related to greenhouse gas pollution. We will continue to advocate for a faster transition towards the cleaner, more affordable future we all deserve,” Rogers said.

An urgent problem

Duke Energy is the third-largest contributor to climate change in the US, according to the Political Economy Research Institute. Coal-powered plants are among the largest emitters of the gases that drive climate change, and Duke operates several of them in North Carolina. Itis also one of the country’s largest operators of these facilities.

Under the new plan, Duke will retire all coal plants by 2036 and work to bolster its renewable energy infrastructure, increasing its solar and wind power investments.

Many clean energy advocates applauded those moves, but say it could be too little too late.

“According to [federal law], Duke’s Belews Creek and Roxboro coal plants would have to retire by the end of 2031 or retrofitted to co-fire with gas by the end of 2029, however the NCUC approved plan ignores this requirement,” the Sierra Club said.

A new report shows that climate change made each hurricane in 2024, including Hurricane Helene, stronger than it would have otherwise been. The damage from Hurricane Helene alone will amount to nearly $54 billion. 

Duke’s history of climate change delays

Concerns over climate change have renewed with an incoming president that pretends the problem doesn’t exist and has committed to policies that will make the problem worse.

Donald Trump has often called climate change a hoax, pledged to derail the Biden administration’s intensive efforts to fight it, and promised to increase the country’s reliance on fossil fuels. 

Duke has often been accused of adding to the problem and trying to sabotage the solutions. 

The Town of Carrboro sued Duke Energy Corporation this month, accusing it of lying about the threats posed by climate change and actively undermining efforts to reduce fossil fuel consumption.

The lawsuit says that Duke Energy engaged in a decades-long “deception campaign” about the risks associated with climate change, a deception that poses a direct threat to the town’s 21,000 residents and has cost them millions of dollars.

Through negligence and deliberate actions, the lawsuit says, Duke Energy has “worsened the climate crisis,” and will cost residents millions in increased energy costs while Duke delays the switch to cleaner, and ultimately less expensive, sources of power.

“For years, Duke Energy Corporation has been working against our public safety as our town has been working hard to use every tool at our disposal to mitigate the devastating effects of climate change,” Carrboro Mayor Barbara Foushee said at a news conference last week.

“And yet the corporation has increased its reliance on coal and gas for electricity, is building new gas burning power plants as we speak … and has profited greatly while our community has suffered.”