Duke Energy Takes Steps Toward Low-Carbon Future

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Speaking at last week's Bank of America Merrill Lynch Power & Gas Leaders Conference in New York, New York, Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) (Charlotte, North Carolina) Chief Financial Officer Lynn Good spoke of methods Duke is taking to reduce the company's carbon footprint. Chief among these are clean-coal technologies, nuclear power, and renewable energy.

"As we take this business into the future, we need to develop strategies that recognize modest demographic growth, a low-carbon future, advances in technology, the increasing importance of energy-efficiency, and more-informed consumers," said Good. "Building more efficient and cleaner coal units, and retiring older, less efficient ones are important steps in achieving our mission," said Good, who went on to discuss the company's new coal-fired plants in Cliffside, North Carolina, and Edwardsport, Indiana. The Cliffside Unit 6 addition consists not only of the addition of a new coal-fired unit, but also an estimated $120 million sulfur-dioxide-control installation. Construction of the wet flue-gas desulfurization scrubber began in 2007 and is set to be completed in the first quarter of next year, while the generating unit addition will come online two years later. "After the plant comes online in 2012," said Good, "we will retire more than 1,000 megawatts of older, less efficient coal-fired generation through 2018. At our Edwardsport site, we're building a state-of-the-art 630-megawatt IGCC [integrated gasification combined cycle] plant that converts coal to a synthetic gas to produce power. When online in 2012, we will retire the current 160-megawatt power plant at that site, which was built in the late 1940s." In addition, Duke has filed plans with the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission to begin a detailed carbon-storage study at the site.

Duke is currently in the site-study and permitting phases of nuclear sites in South Carolina and Ohio. "Our nation can't achieve significant reductions in carbon emissions without building new nuclear generation. However, given the duration and magnitude of these investments, we cannot move forward without a regulatory compact and partnership structure that fits the risk profile of Duke Energy," said Good, stressing that before commencing construction, Duke would work to modify legislation and regulations to minimize the operational and financial risks involved in the construction and operation of nuclear facilities.

Good also pointed to various ways that Duke is implementing renewable energy generation into its portfolio. "First, we signed a 20-year PPA [power purchase agreement] with a windfarm in northern Indiana to supply our Indiana customers with approximately 100 megawatts of electricity. Secondly, we're installing electricity-generating solar panels on the roofs and grounds of up to 425 sites in North Carolina. Thirdly, to ensure the power from a growing number of new windfarms in the Midwest reaches our service territory, we have formed a 50:50 joint venture with [American Electric Power Company (NYSE:AEP)] to site, build and operate a 240-mile, ultra-high-voltage 765-kilovolt transmission line in Indiana."

Industrial Info is currently tracking more than $32.9 billion dollars of active Duke Energy projects, including the coal-fired plants and nuclear facilities that Good discussed. Information on these and other Power Industry projects can be found in Industrial Info's North American Industrial Database.

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