Duke Energy, one of Indiana's largest electricity suppliers, has balked on initial plans to go coal-free by 2035, drawing ire from consumer watchdog groups.
What's happening?
According to a report by IndyStar, the utility's new plan aims to scale back on renewable energy developments while replacing much of its coal generation with either gas-fired or co-fired (both gas and coal) processes.
In Duke's original 2021 plan, it committed to going coal-free by 2035. This revision extends that deadline to 2038, with its Gibson location being the only plant to continue using coal exclusively after 2032.
In addition, instead of following through with its plans to install 1,500 megawatts of solar by 2030, the utility will add just 500 megawatts, with 400 megawatts of battery storage.
"It wouldn't be responsible for us to try to turn over our entire coal fleet by 2032, and so that's why you start to see some of the conversion, the modification to balance out the retirements," Nate Gagnon, Duke's managing director for Midwest resource planning, said in the piece.
Why is reducing coal use so important?
In 2022, burning coal for energy accounted for around 19% of the total U.S. energy-related carbon output. That also translates to 55% of the electric power sector's planet-heating carbon pollution, which is out of balance with coal's 20% share of electricity generation that same year.
"The climate crisis is here, and where Duke's headquarters is in North Carolina they're seeing a massive crisis right now as [a] result of a climate change-fueled hurricane that dumped [an] unprecedented amount of rain," Ben Inskeep of Citizens Action Coalition said in the article.
"So, the climate crisis — first and foremost — is a risk to all of us, and Duke's strategy of doubling down on fossil fuels is particularly ridiculous."
What's being done about coal and the environment?
The good news is that although some utilities are having second thoughts about their environmental commitments, renewable energy is on the upswing, while coal is slowly being rendered obsolete.
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In fact, coal's share of U.S. energy consumption has gone from 37% in 1950 down to 9% in 2023. And electricity generated through wind power surpassed that of dirty coal in April 2023 and again for a two-month period in March and April this year.
Regulations have also been placed on coal and natural gas plants to help lower their negative impact on the environment, although some are trying to fight these rules in court.
Still, a growing number of coal plants are being decommissioned, with new clean energy projects taking their place. That trend has been projected to continue, as the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy has estimated that "solar energy generation is expected to increase by 75% and wind by 11%" by 2025.
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