UPDATE: A proposal to end North Carolina’s renewable energy program was defeated by a surprisingly wide margin on Wednesday, April 24 in a legislative committee chaired by the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Mike Hager (R-Rutherford). Those opposing the proposal cited concerns that it would hurt businesses and job creation in the state’s fast-growing clean energy industry. [...]
This guest blog was authored by Gary Cook, senior policy analyst at Greenpeace, USA. Google’s own blog can be found here. Thanks to some pressure from Google, the largest utility company in the U.S., Duke Energy, now plans to offer renewable energy to its major customers. This will allow Google, who also announced plans today to [...]
The Southeast utilities are starting to step up their game in energy efficiency. I am pleased to report that three of the major utilities here in the Southeast not only met their 2012 energy efficiency goals, they exceeded them by 2-22%! The idea of energy efficiency goals in the South was just a glimmer in [...]
There’s nothing like a heaping serving of data to really drive a point home – and that’s exactly what the Environmental Protection Agency does with its most recent report of plant-by-plant emissions data. EPA’s 2011 Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program report is loaded with emissions data from 1,594 fossil fuel plants across the nation. The resoundingly [...]
Duke Energy recently announced that it would retire two of its oldest coal-fired power plants in April 2013, two years ahead of schedule, which is welcome news to many in the state and across the region. Both the Buck Steam Station, located in Rowan County, NC, and the Riverbend Steam Station, located in Gaston County, [...]
This guest post, by Sue Sturgis, originally appeared on the Institute for Southern Studies’ Facing South blog on Wednesday, November 28, 2012 and is re-posted here with permission. In 2007, North Carolina became the first state in the Southeast to pass a law requiring investor-owned utilities to produce more energy from cleaner sources or from [...]
Today the Union of Concerned Scientists released an important new report entitled “Ripe for Retirement: The Case for Closing America’s Costliest Coal Plants”, which highlights the financial uncertainty of many coal plants around the nation. It turns out that the Southeast is home to a staggering number of inefficient and uneconomic coal plants. As of May 31, [...]
Today’s appointment of former Progress Energy CEO William Johnson as the new CEO of the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) is raising the eyebrows of clean energy advocates across the region, including here at SACE. Though willing to maintain an open mind, I’m surprised that TVA’s Board would hire Mr. Johnson with his controversial past. Of [...]
Waterkeepers Take Legal Action to Stop Toxic Coal Ash from Contaminating Groundwater This blog was originally posted on EcoWatch’s website – click here for the original post. On October 10, conservation groups asked the N.C. Environmental Management Commission(EMC) to require Progress Energy Carolinas and Duke Energy Carolinas to clean up groundwater contaminated by old, unlined coal ash [...]
Last week, I wrote about the implications of the Duke-Progress merger on Florida energy efficiency programs. And while Duke’s programs in the Carolinas are better than in Florida, they are by no means “best practice” programs. Fortunately, we’ve got a settlement for that! Late last year, we worked with several allies to reach a settlement covering several [...]
