Energy & Environment

News and information about energy, environment or both from Charlotte and the Carolinas. 

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Neighbors Sue Duke Over Coal Ash Payments That Come With Strings Attached

By • Aug 23, 2017
Amy Brown of Belmont is among the well owners who filed the suit Wednesday. In 2016 she posed in her living room with bottled water supplied by Duke Energy.
David Boraks / WFAE

Neighbors with contaminated wells near Duke Energy's North Carolina coal ash ponds are suing to halt Duke's demand that they sign away future legal claims in exchange for compensation. 

Former Alabama Official To Lead EPA In The Southeast

By • Aug 23, 2017
Trey Glenn

A controversial former environmental official from Alabama is President Trump's pick to oversee the EPA in the Southeast.  Trey Glenn was named administrator for EPA Region 4, which includes the Carolinas, Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky, Mississippi and Alabama.

Doubts Surface About Nuclear Energy After S.C. Project Is Halted

By • Aug 22, 2017
In February 2017, workers used a giant crane to lower a containment vessel ring into place at the V.C. Summer nuclear plant in Fairfield County, S.C.
SCANA

A decade ago, nuclear power’s future looked bright. It offered a carbon-free energy alternative amid worries about greenhouse gases and climate change. But a lot has happened since then, like the 2011 meltdown at Fukushima and skyrocketing nuclear construction costs. Last month, two South Carolina utilities scrapped a multi-billion dollar nuclear project. Now, the future of nuclear is even cloudier. 

Duke Buys Solar Project To Enter New York State

By • Aug 14, 2017
Aerial view of the Shoreham Solar Commons project under construction in Brookhaven, N.Y.
Duke Energy Renewables

Duke Energy's commercial renewable energy division is expanding into New York State by buying one of that state's largest solar energy farms.  

Groups Fight Rate Hikes For Abandoned S.C. Nuclear Project

By • Aug 7, 2017
Santee Cooper and SCE&G had been adding two reactors at the V.C. Summer nuclear plant in Fairfield County.
Santee Cooper

Updated 2:58 p.m.
Environmental groups are asking South Carolina regulators to let them comment as two utilities seek to recover billions of dollars in costs for a scuttled nuclear project. Friends of the Earth and the Sierra Club said in a filing with the Public Service Commission that the utilities shouldn’t be allowed to charge customers for a project that will never produce electricity.  

Some S.C. Lawmakers Call For Special Session After Nuclear Project Halted

By & • Aug 4, 2017
In February 2017, workers used a giant crane to lower a containment vessel ring into place at the V.C. Summer nuclear plant in Fairfield County, S.C.
SCANA

Updated at 3:47 p.m. 

Some South Carolina Lawmakers have called for a special session to deal with the abandonment of two nuclear reactors announced earlier this week. $9 billion has already been spent building the V.C. Summer plant about 30 miles north of Columbia.

Higher Prices, Electricity Sales Boost Duke Profits

By • Aug 3, 2017
duke energy logo

Profits were up 35 percent at Duke Energy during the second quarter compared with a year ago, helped by higher prices and strong sales of electricity. The company saw higher profits in all three of its main businesses: gas, commercial renewable energy, and the largest - electricity.

S.C. Utilities Abandon Nuclear Plant Expansion

By • Jul 31, 2017
In February 2017, workers used a giant crane to lower a containment vessel ring into place at the V.C. Summer nuclear plant in Fairfield County, S.C.
SCANA

Updated 5:15 p.m.
Two South Carolina utilities said Monday they are halting construction on an expansion of a nuclear plant about 30 miles north of Columbia. Now the question is who pays for the $9 billion dollars already spent.

Assessment Finds 3-State Pipeline Would Harm Environment

By & • Jul 21, 2017
Map shows the route of the proposed Atlantic Coast Pipeline.
Atlantic Coast Pipeline

A federal environmental review has found that the proposed Atlantic Coast Pipeline would have some negative effects on water, forests and endangered species. But the pipeline's builders call the report favorable overall and say it clears the way for final approval. 

Solar Bill In Danger As Senate Adds Wind Power Moratorium

By • Jun 29, 2017
duke energy solar near Elizabeth City
Duke Energy

Legislation designed to encourage more solar energy in North Carolina is in jeopardy after the state House and Senate passed different versions of the bill. A key sticking point is a provision the Senate added that would halt new wind power projects in the state until the end of 2020. 

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