Coal-Burning Plan Will Help Clear The Air
Raleigh News & Observer
July 18, 2006
By Ellen Ruff
President, Duke Energy Carolinas
Regarding your July 15 editorial “Coal mountain:” North Carolina’s economic health and growth depend on a reliable and adequate supply of energy. Duke Energy has initiated a plan to meet the growing demand for electricity in the areas we serve over the next 20 years.
Our plan is comprehensive and diverse: it includes energy efficiency and conservation efforts and renewable energy; it also includes a diverse portfolio of supply options, including natural gas, hydro, coal and nuclear generation resources.
Our plan for coal generation is a win-win for our customers and the environment. Duke Energy is proposing to modernize its power plant fleet over time in a manner that increases generating capacity and efficiency -- and also reduces overall environmental impacts.
Our Cliffside Steam Station in Cleveland and Rutherford counties is an excellent example. We operate five units at the site, capable of generating approximately 760 megawatts. These are older units that were built before “scrubbers” and other modern pollution control technology was available. We have a plan to “scrub” a large Cliffside unit, significantly reducing the overall emission of sulfur dioxide from the site.
We have also filed a request with the state Utilities Commission to approve the construction of two new, state-of-the-art coal units at the site that will be the cleanest and most efficient plants in the state. These units add approximately 1,600 megawatts of generation to meet the growing demand for electricity in the future, and allow us to reduce reliance on older, less efficient coal units that have higher emissions. We are proposing that after we complete these two new units, we will retire four old units at the site.
Rather than focus on the big picture and the obvious win-win for customers and the environment that our Cliffside plan entails, your July 15 editorial focused on a legislative change Duke Energy needs to facilitate our moving forward with the plan. The intent of the legislation being considered by the General Assembly is to ensure that Duke Energy receives credit in the regulatory review process for reducing the Cliffside Steam Station’s sulfur dioxide emissions by 65 percent.
In 2002, I worked with Gov. Mike Easley, leaders from both political parties and environmental groups to help craft North Carolina's landmark Clean Smokestacks Act, legislation that was passed with tremendous bipartisan support and called for a 70 percent reduction in the state’s sulfur dioxide emissions. It set a permanent state cap on sulfur dioxide emissions in North Carolina, and we will stay below that cap after we modernize the Cliffside site.
The legislation does not head off any necessary reviews, but instead ensures that Duke Energy receives credit in the regulatory review process for reducing the Cliffside’s sulfur dioxide emissions. This objective is consistent with the expectations of the Clean Smokestacks legislation and the federal Clean Air Act, is clearly better for the environment and is more economical for our customers.
Our focus is on sustainability -- to protect the environment in which we all must live and to help facilitate the economic growth we, our children and their children will depend on.
