Duke energy going green

This just made local news. Duke energy will be
buying solar electricity. So does this mean Duke
energy may some day get into farming; solar farms?

Do you think this may be just a PR thing?

It will take many solar farms to replace coal.
Duke energy

Many utilities need to have a percentage of green energy in their portfolio to comply with state licensing to keep their coal and nuclear plants running. Also its trendy with the investment community many of the Big Utilities have be doing this for years like Xcel Energy. I think it a good idea, but sometimes the real cost of (green energy) is just not realistic. Time will tell.

Duke energy said going green won't cost their costumers anymore. Yea, who is going to believe that?

The really green energy people are pro nuclear like me lol....

Xcel Energy city customers are in favor of wind farms.....as long as they"re in the country, not metro.

Agreed, Brady.

Dean

I certainly do not, George.

Dean

Duke Energy already has 11 wind farms 4 of which are in Wyoming, one of them not far from me.

I bought a skidsteer that was used in their coal fired plant. It took me hours to clean all the coal out of the belly of that skidsteer....

My job takes me into power plants regularly. As stated before, lots of power companies are diversifying their portfolios to include solar and wind. Neither are as cheap or reliable as coal, but the EPA is knocking on the door of fossil fired power plants, especially coal almost daily, fining them. I can think of a couple of power companies, mostly coal that have gone bankrupt within the past couple of years. Also, our federal government is using a taxpayer funded program that actually pays companies to purchase fossil plants, especially coal and shut them down. I can name a company that is doing just that. Who can blame them? On paper they are a power company, but in reality they are investors and speculators cashing in not much differently than "cash for clunkers". Plus, the federal government is giving major $$$ to companies in the form of subsidies to go solar and wind. Do a Google search on the companies that have taken that $$$ that then went belly up, bankrupt.

Don't get me going. Someone, and I won't say who, promised to bankrupt the coal industry some years back, and he's directing a whole lot of taxpayer money to past and present campaign donors whom if you Google...take the money and run, then file for bankruptcy. The list is quite long. We as a nation are $18,000,000,000,000 in debt, and if I were a power company and many others, I'd cash in as well, and skate all the way to the bank...legally.

Mark

What I don't get is, where is the electricity suppose to come from on cloudy days with no wind? No batteries to fall back on. And why not require ships to use sails instead of oil?

Its hard to separate the Public Relations from the sound business decisions.

Keep in mind that Duke has been under fire for a coal ash leak that had caused quite a bit of environmental problems here in NC. Now they want to bury the stuff at the Charlotte airport.

Bottom line is nobody wants the stuff but they do want their lights on every night.

They probably need another nuclear facility, but nobody wants one in their backyard so I guess if it gets built it will be built on the moon or Antarctica. But probably somebody will protest then too.

Check into leasing out ground for windmills: In Iowa the leases are very profitable, and you still farm crops under the towers.

(quoted from post at 19:12:56 01/07/15) This just made local news. Duke energy will be
buying solar electricity. So does this mean Duke
energy may some day get into farming; solar farms?

Do you think this may be just a PR thing?

It will take many solar farms to replace coal.
Duke energy

Click to expand...

In Ontario 20% of the electrical bill's cost is from the 4% of the power generated by "renewable" energy.
Solar makes power when the sun shines. can't store electricity. Full generating capacity has to be on standby to backup solar and wind. This costs even more $$$.

Our local PUD has to sell 10% "green" energy, which, of course, runs the price up. The irony is that the rest of our electricity comes from hydro power, the cheapest, greenest and most renewable energy there is. The powers that be simply don't define it as "green", as that wouldn't fit their political agenda. Buncha charlatans.

Why not, There making money doing it. They buy a block of electric at $1000 and sell it for $1500. Its all about making money and good PR. Bandit

Federal regulations approved about 6 years ago mandated a certain percentage of green energy be produced by power companies. Our sudden "discovery" of the abundance of petro fuels will make this even more less economical. Electric companies are required to buy this energy. In my county several solar farms are producing with more to be built. It has been a big topic of discussion by our local agricultural committee with regards to what happens with this land when the farms' leases expire. Some of the materials used are considered hazardous and disposal presents a problem. I think we'd be better off growing food.