Client: Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, Sierra Club, and Natural Resources Defense Council
Author: Elizabeth A. Stanton, PhD
June 2024
On behalf of the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, Sierra Club, and Natural Resources Defense Council, Executive Director and Principal Economist Elizabeth A. Stanton, PhD, provided expert testimony before the North Carolina Utilities Commission in response to Duke Energy's petition to construct a 1,360 MW gas-fired combined-cycle electric generating facility in North Carolina. In her testimony, Dr. Stanton identified five concerns with the assumptions uses and information presented to justify the new facility:
Selective treatment of temporary technical challenges as extended barriers
Overestimation of the costs of renewables and storage
Underestimation of risks as costs to ratepayers
Noncompliance with the federal Clean Air Act
Exposure of ratepayers to costs from delayed plant construction
To address these concerns, Dr. Stanton makes several recommendations regarding the Commission’s determination of Duke’s certificate of public convenience and necessity request.