fracking

March 8, 2021 - Relying heavily on fracked gas, the North Carolina utility giant's proposal faces challenges from environmentalists who say it would be a disaster for the climate, and from businesses that fear it will lead to big bills for unnecessary plants. The state's utility regulators will make the final decision, and they're holding a virtual hearing on March 16 to take comments from the public.

July 14, 2020 - Facing mounting costs and legal challenges, the Southern energy giants have canceled the $8 billion Atlantic Coast Pipeline planned to carry fracked gas from West Virginia to Virginia and North Carolina. The move came after intense opposition to the project from environmentalists, racial justice advocates, and local communities, and it will allow the companies to focus on meeting state renewable mandates.

May 22, 2020 - Dominion Energy's and Duke Energy's need for gas was in decline even before the COVID-19 outbreak, which has further cut energy demand. But the companies are still pressing ahead with what critics warn could turn out to be an $8 billion-plus stranded fossil-fuel asset, even while the urgency of addressing climate change becomes clearer.

May 9, 2019 - The nation's largest investor-owned utility was recently named the worst for the environment. But changes recently proposed for the utility regulatory commission by the governor in the company's home state of North Carolina could push Duke in a more environmentally sustainable direction.

April 26, 2019 - In a year of harsh anti-abortion bills, one introduced in Texas went furthest of all by allowing women who end a pregnancy to be put to death. The bill's sponsor — a quadruple divorcee whose first wife sought a restraining order against him — is a major recipient of contributions from a fracking services billionaire and religious sect leader who's become a leading funder of radical anti-abortion groups and candidates.

October 22, 2018 - While its customers suffered this year in hurricanes whose unusual intensity scientists have attributed to climate change, Duke Energy was contributing overwhelmingly to Republican politicians, whose party platform denies that climate change is a pressing concern.

January 31, 2018 - The proposed Atlantic Coast Pipeline has secured a key permit from the Cooper administration, but opponents are keeping up the fight against the project, which would have a dramatically disproportionate impact on low-income and non-white communities.