- Duke Energy
- Duke Energy’s Miami Fort plant in Ohio
Duke Energy, one of Charlotte’s big-business darlings, has decided to close a boiler at one of its coal plants. Only, it’s not at the 82-year-old plant near Charlotte … it’s at the much younger and more modern Miami Fort plant in Ohio. The company is also planning to shut down another coal plant in Ohio soon(er than later).
Of course, the company has also said they would shut down Riverbend, that grandma of a plant that sits on the edge of Charlotte’s drinking water reservoir, draining her two unlined, high-hazard coal ponds into it … you know, the one with out air quality controls.
Let’s hope the company keeps its word.
Here’s more from GreenPeace on the boiler closure in Ohio:
Citing upcoming environmental regulations, Duke Energy made public during its second quarter earnings call its plans to shut down the boiler. The plant is located in North Bend, Ohio, about 16 miles west of Cincinnati, and consists of 3 coal-fired boilers. Boiler 6 came online in 1960 and has no pollution controls known as “scrubbers.”
In response to Duke Energy’s statement, Greenpeace Cincinnati Field Organizer Paul Wojowski said, “We think Duke Energy’s decision to shut down this dirty coal boiler is a step in the right direction but it doesn’t go far enough. We are still concerned with units 7 and 8, which combined put out nearly 8 million tons of carbon pollution, 2400 tons of nitrogen oxides, and 7000 tons of sulfur dioxide each year. The only way to ensure the health and safety of Cincinnatians is to shut this plant down immediately.”
The closure of Miami Fort 6 comes on the heels of Duke’s decision to shutter the Beckjord coal-fired power plant in January 2015. Beckjord’s coal burners are also unscrubbed.
“Much like Duke’s decision to wait until 2015 to shut down Beckjord, the decision to wait until 2015 to close Miami Fort 6 does not come quickly enough. With millions of tons of pollution spewing out of this plant for nearly four decades, it’s time to stop polluting the air and water of southern Ohio now,” Wojowski said.
This article appears in Aug 9-15, 2011.
I live a under a mile from Riverbend (moved here 3.5 years ago) and am sensitive to smoke, pollen and other airborne irritants. I have not experienced any respiratory issues in my 3.5 years living here, and have never even seen a speck of residue on cars that are parked outside.
This author’s irrational obsession with the Riverbend cries out for professional help. I note too that this author never points out that Riverbend is a backup facility that is active only during peak demand times.
Guess it’s too much to ask her to think and foam at the mouth at the same time.
Sounds like someone who works for Duke, because I live across the street from the plant and my property is constantly covered in black dust, but that’s probably because THE PLANT RUNS ALL THE TIME.
I’m grateful that this writer reminds us about Riverbend. Someone needs to.
Stop lying to people, Duke Energy. Stop poisoning us.
Coal kills people. It’s really that simple. Mercury, lead, arsenic, selenium, NOx, SOx, CO2 and particulate matter are all emitted from coal plants. These things lead to brain damage, birth defects, heart attacks, asthma attacks, cancer and death.
I am also grateful for the posts exposing Riverbend and the great update about communities shutting down coal plants.
Now is the time to invest in our health and our future. Clean, safe renewable energy. NC has enough offshore wind potential to power the entire state. That means thousands of good jobs. Let’s turn NC into a safe, clean energy hub.
RR,
Jeesh another paranoid. I live in Stonewater, I don’t work for Duke, and Riverbend does NOT “run all the time”.
What’s your address – your “black dust” comment is simply absurd.
Where do you live in Stonewater? You post your address. I do live there and there is coal being burned at Riverbend constantly. Anyone can drive by and see the black smoke and the mountain of coal waiting to be burned. Why are you defending a practice that pollutes our community? Why are you calling people names?