Duke Energy to Permanently Close Remaining North Carolina Ash Basins

By Colin Kellaher

Duke Energy Corp. (DUK) on Thursday said it has reached an agreement with regulators and community groups in North Carolina on a plan for the permanent closure of its nine remaining coal ash basins in the state.

The Charlotte utilities company said the plan, which relies heavily on excavation and relocation of ash to lined landfills, will reduce the total estimated cost to close the nine basins by about $1.5 billion as compared with the state's order last year.

Coal ash is a byproduct from coal-fired power plants, which scrub potential air pollutants from their emissions. That ash can contain arsenic, selenium, lead and mercury.

North Carolina regulators last April told Duke that it must completely remove coal ash from all storage basins in the state, rejecting the company's proposal to cover some ponds and leave that ash in place. Duke had originally agreed to move coal ash from 22 of its 31 basins in the state to lined landfills but had proposed capping nine basins that it viewed as structurally sound and posing little threat to groundwater.

Under the new plan, Duke said it would excavate seven of the remaining basins and move the ash to lined landfills. Duke said it would also excavate uncapped ash at two of the basins, while ash that is already covered by lined landfills won't be disturbed.

Duke estimates the total undiscounted cost to permanently close all of its ash basins in North and South Carolina will be $8 billion to $9 billion, of which roughly $2.4 billion has been spent through 2019.

The company said it expects to incur most of the remaining costs over the next 15 to 20 years.

--Valerie Bauerlein contributed to this article.

Write to Colin Kellaher at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 02, 2020 08:42 ET (13:42 GMT)

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