Duke Plans to Delay Coal Plant Closing Despite Climate Goals

(Bloomberg) -- Duke Energy Corp. plans to extend the life of its largest coal-fired power plant, pushing aside its climate goal to shutter all facilities that burn the dirty fuel by 2035.

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. 

A Duke spokeswoman said in an email that the company’s emission-reduction goals remain unchanged but aren’t linear. She added that resource plans are not final decisions and are revised regularly.

“Over time our diverse energy mix will enable us to reach our 2050 net zero carbon emission ambitions,” she said. “We continue to prioritize reliable and affordable energy for those we serve.”

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. This increase after a generation of flat to sluggish demand growth threatens to complicate the energy transition and efforts to shut down fossil fuel power plants.

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. Duke Chief Executive Officer Lynn Good said in April that the enormous demand complicates Duke’s goals to cut carbon emissions.

Duke’s online presentation Thursday also showed it would build much less clean energy than it planned back in 2021, said Ben Inskeep, program director as the Citizens Action Coalition of Indiana, a consumer and environmental advocacy group. 

Asked about the reduction, the Duke spokeswoman said it’s planning to build solar power and battery storage. She added that power demand has grown in recent years and grid requirements prevent it from relying more on solar.

“It’s incredibly disheartening to see this abandonment of plans to build out renewable energy and instead keep coal-plants open longer and have a massive expansion of natural gas units,” Inskeep said in an interview about Duke’s plans in Indiana.

(Story updates with additional information on resource plans and changes throughout.)

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