Duke Energy Awarded Permit for Cliffside Plant

I guess the bully pulpit of Democratic gubernatorial candidates didn't carry much clout. That's too bad, but of course, neither drew a clear line in the sand. They both said "Wait!" . . . and the Division of Air Quality said "Up yours."

Is there any possibility of litigation? The release says Duke will make the project carbon neutral in ten years. Any idea how they'll do that? Smoke and mirrors?

Shame on North Carolina's political leadership for allowing this borderline criminal action to move forward. The next time we hear anyone currently in a position of authority making vague promises about climate change and the green economy, let's be sure to ask them where they were when Cliffside happened.

this is far from over..
In regard to Duke's concessions, here's an update from NC WARN:

Lipsticking a pig - Duke energy gets Cliffside approval

NEWS RELEASE
Gov. Easley's Team Helps Duke Energy Distort New Plant's Pollution

Cliffside's new permit violates federal law and public trust; if Duke proceeds,

NC could a become national battleground over coal and climate

Statement from Jim Warren, Executive Director of NC WARN:

The State and Duke Energy seem to be working in tandem to put lipstick on a pig, based on their coordinated announcements today. Despite their withering campaign of distortion, building the Cliffside power plant is a losing strategy for the climate crisis, air quality and mercury poisoning of the North Carolina public.

The question now is whether Duke Energy CEO Jim Rogers will go forward � and turn NC into a national battleground over climate change and mercury pollution at what could be the last coal-fired power plant under construction in the U.S. �In addition to growing public opposition, a host of other factors � climate, recession, soaring costs � could force cancellation of the $2.4 billion plant.

Today's State press release is filled with as many bogus claims as the one by Duke Energy:

THE FINAL PERMIT APPEARS TO ALLOW ONLY A SLIGHT, TOKEN REDUCTION IN MERCURY LIMITS SINCE THE DRAFT PERMIT. And it was a recalculation. The state did not require any changes to controls. Therefore the permit is in noncompliance with federal mercury rules. Instead of requiring proven controls to lower mercury emissions, the state would allow Cliffside to use an untested control system based on promises by equipment manufacturers.

DUKE & STATE BOAST OF PLANS TO MAKE CLIFFSIDE CARBON NEUTRAL BY 2018. A meaningless statement, it's based on vague promises of carbon offsets elsewhere. Also, saying Cliffside could accommodate future carbon control technology is entirely hypothetical. The new unit would emit over 6 millions tons per year of uncontrolled carbon dioxide 12 times more than four small units the company says it will retire. As NASA's James Hansen emphasizes, this type of coal-fired business-as-usual for even another decade will be disastrous.

DUKE & THE STATE BOAST OF RETIRING THREE MORE OLD PLANTS BY 2018. But those were already scheduled for retirement, according to Duke's December Integrated Resource Plan.

SULFUR DIOXIDE, PARTICULATES AND NITROGEN OXIDE. Despite an EPA lawsuit against Duke, the state is allowing Duke to avoid evaluating the cumulative impacts on regional air quality, invalidating the company�s claim of a cleaner plant.

Duke's PR has misled thousands of people into believing that somehow building a new plant will actually reduce pollution. NC WARN is appalled that the Easley administration is going along with Duke's aggressive public relations deception, which masks the increased pollution of the new plant behind upgrades made to an existing Cliffside unit. Those upgrades are already required under state law.

As dozens of similar plants are being canceled across the U.S., Duke CEO Jim Rogers, the man who talks a good game about climate concern and energy efficiency, could become mired in his own hypocrisy. For people who realize the severity of our climate crisis, all the marbles are on stopping coal and nuclear power plants. Citizen groups cannot afford to ever stop fighting for Cliffside's cancellation.

As Dr. Hansen emphasized in his recent visit to North Carolina, the best thing our state can do against accelerating climate change is to cancel this veritable global warming machine, and ramp up energy efficiency and the renewable energy alternatives proving highly successful in the free marketplace.

It appears that the Easley administration has sold out the people of North Carolina in favor of a giant corporation notorious for using financial influence and deceptive propaganda to influence our public institutions. We again call on CEO Jim Rogers to cancel this entirely unnecessary plant. Otherwise, he and Governor Mike Easley will be on the wrong side of history.

Story at the Dome.

to global warming is to build a Coal Fired Plant?

The people in Rutherford County think that it's a grand idea because they promise to hire locally.

No matter that patriotism is too often the refuge of scoundrels. Dissent, rebellion, and all-around hell-raising remain the true duty of patriots.

Progressive Discussions

I would expect litigation challenging the permit to follow. I have not been able to read the actual permit yet (still studying for the Feb. bar exam) but there are likely grounds to challenge it on (there usually is). Fredly's post points to a few grounds that will likely be used to challenge the permit. Unfortunately, financial constraints and the way the system is set up make it an uphill battle.

With regard to the carbon neutral requirement, I am sure how they plan on achieving that by 2018. Most likely, Duke Energy will purchase carbon offsets. The problem with this approach is obvious - Duke Energy can simply purchase some credits (at a cost that means very little to a company this large) while the community still suffers from the same amount of emissions (which factors into the larger global climate change problem).

This is all just my best guess based on what little information I have seen so far (which, admittedly, is very little). As hard as it is to believe, Duke Energy is not the worst energy company out there (I could tell you some horror stories about others). It has ties to the local communities and has decent people running it. Not that this provides any of the local residents with any solace.

But I still am wondering about the law suit by the Park Service?

division of air quality?

No matter that patriotism is too often the refuge of scoundrels. Dissent, rebellion, and all-around hell-raising remain the true duty of patriots.

Progressive Discussions

State Ignores Facts, Grants Cliffside Air Permit

Today the NC Division of Air Quality (DAQ) issued a final air permit to Duke Energy for the construction and operation of a huge 800 megawatt coal-fired power plant for the Cliffside Steam Station in Rutherford County.

The Carolinas Clean Air Coalition expresses extreme disappointment with the State's approval of an air permit that will allow the new Cliffside facility to emit excessive toxic mercury into the air every year, as well as many tons of other dangerous pollutants.

Statement from June Blotnick, Executive Director of the Carolinas Clean Air Coalition:

The decision by the NC Division of Air Quality to grant Duke Energy a permit to build an 800 MW pulverized unit at its Cliffside coal plant in Rutherford County is the wrong decision at the wrong time. In the face of a rapidly warming planet, DAQ has just given Duke ten years to reduce millions of tons of global warming pollution from its other plants. The Earth's atmosphere cannot wait another ten years for Duke to "offset" the millions of tons of CO2 that will come from Cliffside. This decision does not do anything to reduce Duke's huge carbon footprint.

This decision ignores reports by the United Nation's International Panel on Climate Change that state how fast climate change is accelerating and the actions we must take now to stop it. By granting this permit, DAQ ignores the fact that our own state legislative commission on climate change will now have a tougher job of reducing North Carolina's contribution to global warming.

By allowing another coal plant to be built in North Carolina, DAQ ignores the fact that waterways in half the state are already polluted with mercury, a dangerous neurotoxin, emitted from coal plants. While DAQ contends that they are requiring Duke to use the best available technology to reduce mercury emissions, they are NOT requiring that Duke install controls currently on the market designed specifically to reduce mercury. They are allowing Duke to rely on benefits from scrubbers required by the Clean Smokestacks Act which are designed to reduce other pollutants.

This decision ignores the fact that Duke Energy's Cliffside units have been the subject to a longstanding EPA enforcement action. These units should have been cleaned up years ago when Duke made modifications to the plant without adding any pollution control technology. Even though Duke is still involved in this litigation, DAQ is giving them credit for closing down the illegally modified Units 1-4 and allowing them to escape review of the effects of nitrogen oxide and sulfur dioxide on the Great Smoky Mountains and other wilderness areas in Western North Carolina.

This decision will not go unchallenged. Thousands of North Carolinians are ready for the transition to a cleaner, greener economy built on the new innovations in energy efficient and cleaner and greener energy sources. This economy can create thousands of jobs for our citizens. Concerned North Carolinians will not stand idly by while Duke continues to use a polluting 20th century technology to generate electricity when studies have shown that over 3,000 MW of renewable energy can be generated from North Carolina wood and agricultural waste, methane from landfills, wind energy and other sources. The Carolinas Clean Air Coalition will continue to work for clean energy and against the polluting practices of the past.

I have to give the DAQ folks credit for trying, through their "carbon offset" conditions--but they failed.

Here's the bottom line on why the Cliffside plant approval is wrong: Construction and operation of this new unit will create a major, and unnecessary, net increase in carbon emissions.

Net increase: No matter what Duke finds, buys or creates to "offset" the Cliffside carbon emission increase, it won't change the fact that the unit itself is a major NEW source of carbon emissions. Any new "offset" which is paired to that new source could just as readily have been created without it. And, those offsets are NEEDED to reduce the net emissions from EXISTING sources. (In other words, running in place won't save our skins. We have to substantially reduce total carbon emissions to avoid a catastrophic degree of climate change.) Any purchased or other pre-existing "offset" lacks even that virtue. Matched against a newly created source like the new Cliffside unit, "offsets" are little more than smoke and mirrors.

Unnecessary: The generation capacity which would be produced by the new Cliffside unit can be avoided by increased energy efficiency. Not only is that approach better for the environment, it's also cheaper. Building the new coal unit serves no one well--except those with financial interests in coal mining.

Dan Besse
Democrat for Lieutenant Governor
www.danbesse2008.org