Energy in the News

By: Bruce Henderson 

A public hearing on Duke Energy's plan to build a new boiler at its coal-fired Cliffside power plant will be held Sept. 18, the N.C. Division of Air Quality said Tuesday.

Coal-fired plants are among the nation's leading sources of air pollution, including the carbon dioxide that climate scientists link to global warming. Duke will need to prove that the new 800-megawatt unit won't make air pollution significantly worse.

The air-quality division said Duke would use "state of the art" pollution controls on the new unit. But the Southern Environmental Law Center, an opponent, said Tuesday the proposed air-quality permit doesn't require the cleanest technology available as federal law requires.

Duke plans to retire four old Cliffside units that don't have modern pollution controls.

The N.C. Utilities Commission turned down Duke's request to build two new units at the Rutherford County plant, which Duke had said were needed to meet a growing customer base. Environmentalists had protested that improved conservation and energy-efficiency efforts could end the need for the plant expansion.

The public hearing will be at 6 p.m. at Chase High School, 1603 Chase High School Road, Forest City. Members of the public may speak or submit written comments.