Dive Brief:
- Duke Energy and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reached a settlement last week in a 15 year-old Clean Air Act case that centered on the five of the company's coal-fired facilities in North Carolina.
- Though Duke admitted no wrongdoing in the settlement, the case concerned allegations that the company made improper modifications to more than a dozen generating units and failed to install necessary environmental controls.
- Duke agreed to spend more than $4 million on environmental projects in addition to paying a civil penalty of about $1 million. It admitted no wrongdoing.
Dive Insight:
It's been a decade and a half since the EPA alleged Duke had made unauthorized modifications to more than two dozen coal-fired units. Over the years, the case has narrowed and even gone through the U.S. Supreme Court; on remand the allegations were narrowed to cover 13 units, and the settlement addresses those generators across five locations.
In a statement, Duke said it "estimates the costs of continued litigation would exceed the costs of the settlement agreement."
"Duke Energy denies the alleged violations, maintains it complied fully with federal law, and is agreeing to settle the case solely to avoid the costs and uncertainties of continued litigation," the company said in the settlement agreement, filed with the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina. The settlement is subject to approval by the court.
In addition to a $975,000 civil penalty, Duke agreed to spend $4.4 million on environmental projects and donations, including up to $600,000 for clean energy and energy efficiency projects in economically distressed counties in North Carolina and South Carolina, and at least $500,000 to replace wood-burning stoves with lower-emission residential heating appliances in North Carolina mountain counties and large cities.
Under the settlement, Duke must permanently retire Allen Units 1 and 2, each with a capacity of 165 MW, by 2024.
The agreement includes: Allen Units 1 and 2; Buck Units 3, 4, and 5; Cliffside Units 1, 2, 3, and 4; Dan River Unit 3; and Riverbend Units 4, 6, and 7.
The EPA estimated the settlement would reduce emissions by approximately 2,300 tons per year from three Allen units, compared with recent emission levels. "With these additional retirements, total emissions from all thirteen allegedly modified units – which were in excess of 51,000 tons in 2000 when the suit was filed – will be zero," the agency said.