CHARLOTTE, N.C. — With an announcement expected from the Environmental Protection Agency next week to limit carbon emissions from new power plants, an environmental agency is pushing local lawmakers to support it.
According to a new report by Environment North Carolina, three of the dirtiest power plants in the United States are in the Tar Heel state.
All of them are owned by Duke Energy.
Duke Energy is the main energy provider for North Carolina but according to an environmental group it's also one of the nation's leading carbon pollution creators.
"It's 51 percent of our overall carbon pollution in the state, so if we reduce that, that's a significant amount of carbon pollution," said Graham Gives with Environment North Carolina.
Duke Energy has three power plants in the state that, according to Environment North Carolina, are among the 50 dirtiest power plants in the nation.
One is in the Marshall Plant in Catawba County, the second is near Winston-Salem and the third is in Roxboro, near the Virginia state line.
The environment group said the carbon emissions from these plants have been linked to extreme weather globally and can be partly blamed from the severe flooding in Charlotte this summer.
"Any emissions in North Carolina will affect the entire world. This is the basic physics of CO2," associate professor with University of North Carolina at Charlotte Brian Magi said.
Channel 9 took the complaints to Duke Energy. The company said the three plants are the largest in the state and Duke Energy is doing its part to reduce carbon emissions.
"We have reduced carbon emissions by 20 percent by 2008 through a combination of retiring older coal plants building new natural gas plants and energy efficiency with customers," said Duke Energy spokeswoman Erin Culbert.
Duke also said by the end of the year half of the 14 coal plants in the state will be retired.
Next week, the EPA is expected to announce carbon emission restrictions on new power plants.
Duke Energy said it has no plans to build new plants at this time.
“Duke Energy has three power plants in the state that according to Environment North Carolina are among the 50 dirtiest power plants in the nation.
One is in the Marshall Plant in Catawba County, the second is near Winston-Salem and the third is in Roxboro, near the Virginia state line.”
“Duke Energy has three power plants in the state that according to Environment North Carolina are among the 50 dirtiest power plants in the nation.
One is in the Marshall Plant in Catawba County, the second is near Winston-Salem and the third is in Roxboro, near the Virginia state line.”
WSOC
