Duke Energy Ratchets Up Carbon Reduction Plan

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) (Charlotte, North Carolina) has beefed up its near-term carbon reduction goal with plans to cut carbon dioxide emissions by half or more from 2005 levels by 2030, the company said Tuesday. Industrial Info is tracking nearly $9.3 billion in power-generation project activity by Duke.

"The company's 2017 goal to reduce carbon emissions 40% by 2030 was one of the industry's most ambitious at the time," Duke said in a press release. "Since then, sustained, low natural gas prices and declining costs for renewables and storage have allowed the company to accelerate that goal to at least 50% by 2030."

Duke said it has set a new goal of net-zero carbon emissions from electric generation by 2050. The company plans to at least double its solar, wind and other renewables portfolio by 2025, and will continue to use natural gas infrastructure to maintain the transition.

The company has retired 49 coal-fired units totaling 6,190 megawatts (MW) since 2010, replacing them with natural gas-fired units and renewable energy sources.

Duke said it already meets or exceeds the standards of the former Clean Power Plan. The Supreme Court had stayed the Obama-era environmental rule, and under the Trump administration, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has replaced it with the Affordable Clean Energy Rule (ACE), which is viewed as more friendly to the nation's coal industry. The ACE rule is being challenged by 29 states and the District of Columbia. For more information, see August 20, 2019, article - Blue States Sue to Block ACE, but Eyes Are on Earlier Decisions.

Industrial Info is tracking nearly $1.8 billion in renewable power generation project activity by Duke, and nearly $1.6 billion in natural gas-fired projects.

Click on the image at right for a graph showing Duke Energy's renewables and natural gas-fired project activity by state.

Near Newkirk, Oklahoma, Duke is planning a 350-MW, phase II addition at the Frontier Windfarm. The project includes the addition of 74 Nordex wind turbine generators, each capable of generating 4.8 MW. Wanzek Corporation (Fargo, North Dakota) is the contractor for the project, which is planned for a construction kickoff in mid-2020, and completion in early 2021. For more information, see Industrial Info's project report.

Near Andrews, Texas, construction of Duke's 35-MW Lapetus solar power facility is under way. Swinerton Builders (San Francisco, California) is providing the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) for the project, which features 94,000 photovoltaic modules. Completion is planned for late 2019. For more information, see Industrial Info's project report.

Among Duke's natural gas-fired projects is the Western Carolinas Modernization project, which aims to replace coal-fired generation with natural gas. The project includes construction of a 560-MW combined-cycle unit at the company's power station in Arden, North Carolina. Construction began in late 2017 and is planned for completion in October. McDermott International Incorporated (NYSE:MDR) (Houston, Texas) is providing EPC. For more information, see Industrial Info's project report and see February 15, 2019, article - Duke Proceeds with Lower-Carbon Buildout.

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