Duke Energy — whose corporate power touches the lives of every North Carolinian every day — whose outsized political influence exerts itself via hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions every election — whose former employees-turned-state-officials, ex-Gov. Pat McCrory, ex-State Rep. Mike Hager and sitting State Sen. Paul Newton, among them, have represented the utility’s interests to the degree that at times the utility seems to operate as a shadow government — Duke Energy did not get what it wanted.
On April 1, the NC Department of Environmental Quality determined that the utility must remove all coal ash from its remaining nine impoundments at six plants in North Carolina: Allen, Belews Creek, Cliffside/Rogers, Marshall, Mayo and Roxboro.
According to the order, Duke can move the coal ash– roughly 100 million tons in total — to lined, dry landfills, either onsite or offsite. The utility can also recycle the ash at beneficiation plants, which prepare the material to be reused in concrete. Three such facilities are planned for North Carolina: in Wayne, Chatham and Rowan counties. A cleanup plan is due to DEQ by Aug. 1.
WRAL Editors note 4/5/19: Vice Admiral Dennis McGinn is former president of the American Council on Renewable Energy, where he led efforts to communicate the economic, security and environmental benefits of renewable energy.
I served in the U.S. Navy for 35 years as an aviator, test pilot, aircraft carrier commanding officer and commander of the U.S. 3rd Fleet, retiring at the rank of vice admiral. I later served as assistant Secretary of the Navy, responsible for all Navy and Marine Corps installations around the world.
Nothing is more important to me than protecting the safety of our military aviators and ensuring the continued viability of our military training facilities. With that in mind, Senate Bill 377, the “Military Base Protection Act,” recently introduced in the North Carolina Senate, caught my eye.
The bill’s title actually is a misnomer. It has little to do with protecting military bases. Rather, the legislation really is just a ban on wind energy development along North Carolina’s coast. And while it is important that all development (not just wind development) be compatible with critical military missions, this bill is unnecessary.
The bill bans most wind energy projects generally within 100 miles of the coastline and unwisely substitutes a generic “one size fits all” approach for a Department of Defense process, that has been in place for years, to evaluate all proposed wind projects, turbine by turbine. I was involved in that review process as assistant secretary of the Navy and I can attest to its rigor. Further, the process was recently strengthened by changes signed into law by President Donald Trump.
RALEIGH, N.C. — Almost two years after lawmakers put a halt to new wind farms in the state, Senate Majority Leader
Harry Brown on Wednesday filed a bill to get wind energy blowing again in parts of North Carolina – but not in an area that most needs the development.
It was Brown, R-Onslow, who stuck the 18-month wind farm moratorium into a bill overhauling the state's solar energy policies in the summer of 2017. He argued that giant turbines could interfere with training exercises near military bases across eastern North Carolina.
Military officials, who must sign off on all wind farm projects, said no projects pending at the time would have interfered with training.