Topic: Utilities (5)
Lawsuit Against Duke Energy's Cliffside Coal Power Plant
Several related stories:
http://www.newsobserver.com/business/story/1144110.html
July 17, 2008
"CHARLOTTE - An environmental group asked a federal judge Wednesday to halt construction of a new coal-fired generator in Western North Carolina until Duke Energy proves that it is using the best technology to stop hazardous pollution."
http://www.charlotte.com/business/story/711915.html
July 14, 2008
"...Pollution drifting from its [TVA] coal-fired power plants, N.C. Attorney General Roy Cooper says, makes the nation's largest public power company a public nuisance. Cooper gets his chance to prove it today in a federal court in Asheville. ...Cooper wants TVA to install pollution controls similar to those North Carolina required of Duke Energy and Progress Energy in 2002. The estimated cost to TVA: $516 million a year. Reducing wind-blown pollutants from TVA plants in Tennessee, Alabama and Kentucky would prevent 99 premature deaths, 19,000 asthma attacks and 2,300 lost school days a year in North Carolina, the state says in court filings. Each year of delay, an expert witness is expected to testify, costs the state and its residents $672 million in health costs."
http://www.newsobserver.com/1565/story/1144694.html
July 18, 2008
"CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Duke Energy Corp. said Thursday it will fight any attempts to stop construction of a new coal-fired power generator in western North Carolina, arguing it was issued a "legal, valid permit" by the state's Division of Air Quality. ...Duke began construction of the $2.4 billion, 800-megawatt generator in late January, a day after the state issued its final air quality permit."
North Carolina's Challenge Guts Air Rule
"A federal appeals court Friday upheld a challenge by North Carolina and struck down the regulatory cornerstone of the Bush administration's efforts to control air pollution. The state was joined by Duke Power and other utilities, which charged that the Environmental Protection Agency exceeded its authority when it established the 2005 Clean Air Interstate Rule."
Heat of Battle - Utilities Struggle with Sales versus Savings
"Utilities are now in the heat of battle. While they would like to maximize their sales, they must now persuade their customers to save energy. It's a quest that will help defer investments in expensive and contentious infrastructure and in doing so, prevent the release of some harmful emissions.
Instead of investing millions in power plants to meet the 100 or so hours a year when energy demand is highest, utilities are turning to their customers to reduce energy usage...."
Sensus to expand, hire more workers
Florida Energy Bill to Boost Efficiency and Renewable Energy
Most of these measures do not include specific minimums in the bill, but instead direct several different state institutions to draft rules and regulations and report them back to the state legislature next year for possible approval.
