Duke Energy
Duke Energy is one of the biggest power utilities in the United States and operates almost 13 GW of coal-fired capacity in 5 US states: North Carolina, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio and Florida. Coal accounts for around ¼ of the company’s total generation capacity. Duke Energy’s Gibson Power Plant in Indiana and its Crystal River Power Plant in Florida are among the dirtiest coal plants in the US.
Duke Energy has a long, long record of environmental violations. For decades, the company stored poisonous coal ash from its power plants in unlined pits alongside rivers and streams. In 2014, this led to a major disaster, when 39,000 tons of coal ash and 27 million gallons of untreated coal slurry spilled into the Dan River in North Carolina. Subsequently, the company was found guilty of criminal behavior and sentenced to one of the highest fines in the history of the US Clean Water Act. It, however, took almost another decade of litigation by environmental groups, until Duke Energy was finally forced to sign a settlement agreeing to clean up all of its coal ash ponds across North Carolina.
Duke Energy wants to keep burning coal until 2035, 5 years longer than the 1.5° limit allows. On top, the company plans to swap out most of its coal-fired power with fossil gas. Earlier this year, Duke Energy applied for energy rate hikes in multiple U.S. states. Instead of fully focusing on building out cheap renewables, Duke Energy keeps holding on to its old and inefficient coal plants and is building new expensive gas plants. Once again, a fossil company is trying to force consumers to pay the price.
