Southeastern Coal Plants Retire and Convert | Other Shorts

The growing share of electricity generated by natural gas and recent announcements of coal plant retirements are rapidly changing the energy sector across the southeast. On Jan. 7, Georgia Power announced its plans to retire 15 coal- and oil-fired units at four plants across the state. The same week as Georgia Power’s announcement, Duke Energy…

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Duke CEO Could Be New Energy Guru || N.C. Round-Up

By Davis Wax Editorial assistant, Spring/Summer 2013 Over the past few weeks there has been a spurt of environmental and energy news in North Carolina and its capital, Raleigh. The developing issues include departing Charlotte-based Duke Energy CEO Jim Rogers being considered for the President’s cabinet, a new bill looking to end state environmental and…

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Duking It Out: CEO Retires, Rates Increase and other shorts

By Matt Grimley Under a proposed settlement with the N.C. Utilities Commission and the N.C. Public Staff, Duke Energy President and CEO Jim Rogers will retire from his positions at the end of 2013. The agreement, announced late November, would resolve all issues involved in the commission’s investigation of Duke’s $32 billion merger with Progress…

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A Finite Frontier: Facing the Future of Central Appalachian Coal

By Brian Sewell On Sept.18, Appalachian coal mining giant Alpha Natural Resources announced it would idle eight mines and lay off 400 employees in the first phase of a “strategic repositioning” plan designed to meet the evolving demands of a changing global coal market. According to Alpha, the plan aims to enhance the company’s position…

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Rebranding Bank of America’s Responsibility

————————————————————————————————————————————– Join us in Charlotte on May 9 to remind Bank of America, the largest financier of the U.S. coal industry, of their responsibility to citizens and the environment. Visit our action page for more info and to sign up. ————————————————————————————————————————————– “BREAKING: Daring Action at Bank of America Stadium,” read the first email in my…

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Study Weighs Risks, Benefits of Fracking in North Carolina

By Brian Sewell A series of public hearings in March concluded that, with proper regulation, hydraulic fracturing, the controversial natural gas drilling method can be done safely in North Carolina. The hearings, held in Sanford, Chapel Hill and Pittsboro, received public comment on a draft report of the state’s Department of Environment and Natural Resources’…

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Duke Energy Raises Rates in NC

On Jan. 27, the North Carolina Utilities Commission approved a 7.2 percent rate increase for North Carolina ratepayers. The North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper and a coalition of state public-interest groups filed legal briefs detailing their opposition to the rate hike. The 7.2 percent increase is the result of an agreement between Duke Energy…

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Duke Energy’s Tough Times, Rate Hike Hearings Continue in Marion

On Tuesday Oct. 25, at the McDowell County courthouse in Marion, the N.C. Utilities Commission heard a succession of voices all proclaiming the same message: Do not approve the 17 percent rate hike proposed by Duke Energy Carolinas. Public hearings for feedback on the rate hike continue this week and Duke Energy’s customers are coming…

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