The CSR Newsletters are a freely-available resource generated as a dynamic complement to the textbook, Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility: Sustainable Value Creation.

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Showing posts with label Duke Energy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Duke Energy. Show all posts

Tuesday, April 8, 2025

Strategic CSR - Energy

As the article in the url below starts off by saying, "Something strange is happening with utilities." Specifically:

"For decades, electricity usage in the US has been mostly flat. Even with more people starting to use more power for more things, much of that has been offset as buildings, factories and appliances become more efficient."

But suddenly that is no longer the case and, apparently, the utilities have been caught off-guard:

"Big tech companies need lots of electricity, for data centers and especially for artificial intelligence. Homes are using more electricity for heating and cooling. Factories need more electricity to shift away from fossil fuels."

As a result, ironically:

"… when faced with this sudden increase of load on the power grid, utilities are going to rely heavily on natural gas, and even coal."

This is not a minor or temporary shift, but something more fundamental:

"[Research predicts] demand to for electricity to climb almost 16% over the next five years, more than triple his estimate from a year ago. Utilities are expecting customers to need as much as 128 gigawatts of new capacity in 2029."

And, as is often the case when societies are asked to choose between economic growth and sustainability, it is the switch away from fossil fuels that is the primary casualty:

"That's really going to disrupt the green transition. Power providers that have made pledges to cut back or eliminate carbon emissions are now starting to reverse course. Duke Energy Corp. is extending the life of its largest coal-fired power plant, abandoning its plan to exit coal by 2035. FirstEnergy also will operate a pair of coal plants, stepping back from an earlier pledge to stop using the fuel by 2030. And energy companies in the US are planning new gas plants at the fastest pace in years."

Take care
David

David Chandler
© Sage Publications, 2023

Instructor Teaching and Student Study Site: https://study.sagepub.com/chandler6e  
Strategic CSR Simulation: http://www.strategiccsrsim.com/
The library of CSR Newsletters are archived at: https://strategiccsr-sage.blogspot.com/


Coal-Black Swans Threaten the Green Transition
By Will Wade
December 17, 2024
Bloomberg

Posted by David Chandler at 7:06 AM

Tuesday, February 11, 2025

Strategic CSR - Coal

Here is a tale of two trajectories for coal that are heading in opposite directions (at least, in the short term). First, the article in the first url below reports that Duke Energy has announced its intention to change its plans for its largest coal-fired power plant. The company had originally planned to close all its power plants that use "the dirty fuel" by 2035, but that has now changed:

"The utility said it plans to operate its massive Gibson Station in Indiana through 2038, according to a presentation about its resource plan for that state posted on its website Thursday. The company previously said it would shutter the plant by 2035, in line with its broader plan to be entirely coal-free by that year."

What is interesting is that the article (pre-DeepSeek) blames A.I. for unpredicted electricity consumption, which is causing utilities to alter their plans of how they will be able to meet that growing demand:

"Some US utilities are struggling to meet ambitious climate goals set before electricity forecasts began spiking amid tech giants' move to build new data centers for artificial intelligence."

Similarly:

"FirstEnergy Corp. announced earlier this year it was abandoning its 2030 target for slashing greenhouse gas emissions because it couldn't replace some coal plants in time."

In contrast, the article in the second url below reports that the UK closed its last coal-fired power plant, in early October last year, in what is being framed as a risky experiment to meet its previously announced GHG emissions goal:

"By closing the 2,000 megawatt (MW) coal plant in Nottinghamshire, Britain has become the first G7 country to end coal-fired power production and make significant progress against energy transition and pollution reduction targets."

The key is that the UK is not self-sufficient in terms of LNG, which means it will need to rely on imports, paying the market rate that is heavily influenced by geopolitics:

"UK gas consumption has exceeded domestic gas production for the past 20 years, according to the 2024 Energy Institute Statistical Review of World Energy. … Between 2018 and 2023, UK LNG imports jumped by 171% from 7.2 billion cubic meters (BCM) to 19.4 BCM, according to the Energy Institute."

Take care
David

David Chandler
© Sage Publications, 2023

Instructor Teaching and Student Study Site: https://study.sagepub.com/chandler6e  
Strategic CSR Simulation: http://www.strategiccsrsim.com/
The library of CSR Newsletters are archived at: https://strategiccsr-sage.blogspot.com/


How is the energy transition going?
By Brian Kahn
October 4, 2024
Bloomberg Green

UK's last coal plant shutdown bodes well for US LNG export
By Gavin Maguire
October 1, 2024
Reuters
 
Posted by David Chandler at 7:38 AM
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