Duke Energy deception worsens regarding new plant’s emissions
By Jim Warren
Executive Director, NC Waste Awareness & Reduction Network (WARN)

We call on all news media and public officials to exercise the utmost scrutiny of continuing claims by Duke Energy and state officials about the costs and benefits of the Cliffside coal-fired power plant.  NC WARN stands behind our initial analysis, and Jan. 29 statement that the state has colluded with Duke to mislead the public about key facts involving the plant.

Furthermore, the deception has worsened since then, particularly in paid Duke Energy ads and statements made to the press following the Feb. 8 court ruling on mercury.  We do not make these charges lightly. Today NC WARN is publicizing three items showing the months-long deception that has misled many North Carolinians into thinking that building a huge, polluting greenhouse gas machine could somehow, as CEO Jim Rogers says, be “good for the environment.”

If Duke Energy and the Easley Administration could justify the Cliffside project, they would do so with clear, direct information – not the barrage of clever public relations tactics used so far:

1. DUKE’S ADS IMPLYING ELIMINATION OF GREENHOUSE GASES:  Following state approval, Duke Energy ran an open letter from CEO Rogers in full-page ads across its service area, and probably costing ratepayers a half-million dollars.  Included are nine references to “global warming” and related terms, plus a statement that Cliffside will “eliminate 90 percent of regulated emissions.”  Since no other pollutant is mentioned, readers are led to believe the reduction refers to greenhouse gases.  According to state documents, the new unit would discharge 6 million tons of uncontrolled carbon dioxide each year – 12 times more than the small units to be retired.

2. GREENSCAM ALERT – A MYTH/FACT SHEET: This is a slightly updated version of our piece distributed at last week’s Emerging Issues Forum. There will be much more to say about mercury emissions, but the state is playing a shell game based on paper changes in the final permit that did not require Duke to change any pollution controls. Note also that to the extent Rogers’ ad technically refers to “regulated” emissions, the new Cliffside unit won’t remove 90% of mercury either. Although some mercury is removed from the smokestacks, as an element it cannot be destroyed; the highly toxic ash is being deposited on-site in a 10 acre waste slurry pond right next to the Broad River.

OPINION COLUMN BY NC WARN:   Several editors have run our op-ed pointing out multiple deceptions by Duke and state officials. It’s troubling that several other papers have run the power company’s ads and numerous opinion pieces, but won’t run our op-ed countering their veracity.