Energy
Two settlements later, guess who is stuck paying nearly all of coal-ash cleanup?
What changed between 2014 and now? Why is it no longer better to come down on the side of consumers?
Environmental remediation
Research Brief
Budget, Taxation & Economy
Stein’s coal-ash settlement agreement means even higher rates for Duke customers
Prior to becoming governor, AG Roy Cooper spoke strongly against consumers being made to pay coal ash cleanup costs, but under his governorship and two settlement agreements later, consumers appear…
Energy
Asking a key question about the coal-ash settlement agreement
It would excavate and remove 70 percent of the coal ash identified at those six facilities, leaving 33.8 million tons of coal ash in the ground out of 113.5 million…
Energy
Could Cooper’s Coal Ash Deal Up Your Power Bill?
This week, JLF’s Jon Sanders published a research brief on the Duke Energy coal-ash cleanup. Sanders describes the situation: Prior to April 2019, Duke Energy had agreed with the state…
Research Brief
Budget, Taxation & Economy
Rate Hikes Loom For Duke Customers, Thanks To Coal Ash Clean-Up Agreement
Prior to April 2019, Duke Energy had agreed with the state Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) to close and excavate all but nine of its 31 coal-ash basins. DEQ had…
Energy
When did Cooper change his mind about making consumers pay for coal-ash cleanup? Why?
How can it be "unfair" and not "reasonable" to sock consumers with the cleanup costs in 2014, but add extra cleanup costs in 2020 and then it’s not a problem?…
Energy
Carolina Journal: Some NC solar panels have GenX
Dan Way reports for Carolina Journal today about GenX use in solar panels. State policies have heavily incentivized and promoted solar energy facilities without even requiring reclamation bonding for the sites.
Liberty
Got Money?
Duke Energy has agreed to pay $20 million for groundwater contamination. $10-15 million will go toward cleanup, even though contamination never seeped far enough to harm private wells. The other…
Liberty
Needs More Pond Scum
I don’t want to get into the fray of demonizing coal-fired plants. They’re under a microscope, and they probably do more good than harm. There are side effects to everything,…
Liberty
Church & State
You remember the CTS scare? Sure you do. I was the only nimnut that wasn’t convinced CTS was guilty of pouring gobs and oodles of trichloroethylene into the soil to…
Liberty
WSFCS delays funding request for contaminated school site
Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools Superintendent Beverly Emory met with the Board of Commissioners and successfully secured a delay for its $41 million funding request as it figures out what to do…
Liberty
Ask Don Martin about the contaminated school site
Another notable quote, this time in the Winston-Salem Journal front-pager on underground contamination found on the site of Winston-Salem /Forsyth County Schools’ proposed $15 million middle school for special needs…