Showing posts with label Duke Energy. Show all posts

Monday, March 17, 2014

Duke Energy's Dirt Flows Downstream to Democrat's Doorsteps

Duke Energy accused of mishandling more coal ash wastewater

By David Zucchino March 16, 2014, 10:10 p.m excerpted

MONCURE, N.C. -- While poring over regulatory documents for Duke Energy coal ash ponds, environmentalists at the Waterkeeper Alliance grew suspicious of the way the giant utility was handling the toxic ash waste left over from burning coal.

They decided to send up a team in an aircraft to photograph Duke's shuttered Cape Fear coal-burning power plant and ash ponds, tucked into piney woods in this tiny community in central North Carolina.

The photos revealed what the Waterkeeper Alliance says is evidence that Duke, the nation's largest electric utility, is deliberately pumping toxic coal ash wastewater from the containment ponds into a canal that eventually feeds into the Cape Fear River, a source of drinking water for downstream cities.

In the photos, two portable pumps and hoses can be seen drawing water from a coal ash pond and dumping into the canal and into nearby woods. According to the environmental group, that is a criminal violation of the Clean Water Act and state laws.

It has been a bad year for Duke Energy:

The allegations came as Duke and state regulators are under intense public and political pressure following the massive Feb. 2 Duke Energy coal ash spill that coated the Dan River with toxic coal ash sludge for at least 70 miles in North Carolina and Virginia. Hazardous heavy metals such as arsenic and lead were dumped into the river.

That spill, at a retired Duke Energy coal-fired plant in Eden, N.C., has led to allegations by environmental groups that state regulators have been soft on Duke and have ignored coal ash seepage for years from 14 Duke plants in North Carolina. It was the third-worst spill in U.S. history

Federal prosecutors have announced a criminal investigation into the relationship between the state agency and Duke Energy. They have said they are seeking evidence of any money or gifts exchanging hands.

Officials at the state agency and at Duke Power have been issued subpoenas to appear before a grand jury this week.

In a statement, Duke Energy said the pumps were permitted by state regulators.

The Democrat Party's Connection to Duke Involves Hundreds of Millions Of Dollars.

Duke Energy, ALEC member and the nation's largest utility, has played a major role in bringing the Democratic National Convention to Charlotte, North Carolina in 2012. The Democrats took all this money while having the nerve to preach about the environment and global warming. 'Climate change' was only mentioned once in 80 speeches at the convention.

Duke Energy writes off $10-million loan for Democratic convention February 13, 2013

Duke Energy has already written off a $10-million line of credit the company guaranteed to help produce September’s Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., boosting the role of corporate funds in putting on the event.

Energy Company That Got $700 Mil From Obama, Gives Dem Party $10 Mil

And that $10 million wasn’t all the loot that Jim Rogers passed back to the Democratic Party.

The company donated $1.5 million in in-kind contributions to the host committee for office space, furniture and other expenses. Rogers personally gave $339,000 in cash and in-kind services, including the hiring of a fundraising assistant.
Duke also gave $4.1 million to a separate fund that could accept corporate money to put on parties boosting the city.

And:

Duke and Progress Energy each got $200 million in federal stimulus money for smart grid improvements in 2009. Duke’s Cliffside power plant won a $125 million “advanced coal” tax credit from the Department of Energy, and a plant under construction in Indiana got $460 million in federal, state and local incentives.

Still counting:

Duke Energy got the maximum allowable amount in taxpayer money under the stimulus program.

The DOE funds will support two projects: $200 million — the maximum allowed per project under the DOE Smart Grid Investment Grant Program — will assist in modernizing Duke Energy’s power distribution system; $4 million will support the installation of digital equipment on the transmission system in the Carolinas.

Duke Energy talked ash lawsuits with regulators

No intervention by the FEDS and the EPA as expected, while the state regulators will take the political heat for the current situation. The Democrats took the money.

Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2014/03/13/4763559/duke-wanted-state-to-sue-over.html#.UyaWTc4sT9w#storylink=cpy

Friday, March 1, 2013

ALEC Member & Coal Giant's $10 Million Loan to Democrats Is Now a $10 Million Donation

Coal Giant's $10 Million Loan to Democrats Is Now a $10 Million Donation

—By Andy Kroll

| Fri Mar. 1, 2013 7:49 AM PST

Last summer, with organizers struggling to raise enough money for the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina, party planners turned to Duke Energy, headquartered in Charlotte, for help. Duke, the nation's largest utility company, stepped up with a $10 million line of credit for the convention. Organizers insisted Duke would be repaid after the convention.
Or…not.
A Duke Energy official told the Charlotte Observer on Thursday that Democratic officials would not repay the $10 million they owe the company. Instead, Duke Energy will write off the loan as a business expense. Shareholders are expected to absorb $6 million of the cost of the loan.

In effect, Duke Energy's "loan" has turned out to be a $10 million contribution to the Democratic convention. Duke CEO Jim Rogers hinted at this possibility in an interview with the Observer last month, when it was becoming clear the Democrats might not repay the company. "At the end of the day, we'll do our best to get our money back," he said. "But if we don't, it's just a contribution we're making I think for the greater good of our community."
The decision by Democratic organizers not to repay the loan smacks of hypocrisy. In the run-up to the convention, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.), the chair of the Democratic National Committee, vowed that convention organizers would not accept corporate money. "We will make this the first convention in history that does not accept any funds from lobbyists, corporations, or political action committees," she said. Yet even before the Duke loan became a straight-up donation, various convention committees revealed that they had accepted corporate money. One committee took in at least $5 million in corporate money to rent Charlotte's Time Warner Cable Arena and a million more in in-kind contributions from AT&T, Bank of America, Coca-Cola, Microsoft, and Costco.
Asked about this hypocrisy, Democratic officials have responded by noting that their anti-corporate-cash pledge was self-imposed. Legally, they could use corporate money to fund their convention. Which, in the end, is precisely what they did.

Democracy Now explored the connection Between Obama and Duke Energy

Published on Sep 4, 2012
DemocracyNow.org - Duke Energy, the nation's largest utility, has played a major role in bringing the Democratic National Convention to Charlotte, North Carolina. Duke has a lot riding on future policies governing coal, nuclear energy and climate change, regardless of who wins November's election. The company has partly been successful in fighting off federal regulations thanks to its ties to the American Legislative Exchange Council, or ALEC, reportedly sponsoring ALEC's meetings and bankrolled its attacks on clean energy legislation. We discuss Duke Energy's growing political influence with Monica Embrey, the North Carolina organizer for Greenpeace USA; and Beth Henry, a local activist in Charlotte raising awareness about Duke Energy and its ties to the Democratic National Convention.

There is a lot more to the story in this right to work state:

Nuclear ALEC Member DUKE ENERGY Funds DNC 2012

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Climate Change: Democrat Hypocrisy and the DNC 2012

The following headline caught my attention today. Charlotte seems like a great location and makes sense for the Republicans to hold a convention , but the DNC 2012 in Charlotte was a much better story. The DNC 2012 host Duke Energy and the location in a right-to-work state seemed to be overlooked and glossed over by the left. The hypocrisy of the LEFT knows NO Bounds.

Will Charlotte host GOP convention in 2016?

Jim Morrell | Charlotte Observer -

Posted on Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Read more here: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2013/01/23/180807/will-charlotte-host-gop-convention.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter&utm_term=news#storylink=cpy

It worked for Democrats. Could it work for Republicans?
With national Republican Party officials gathering in Charlotte this week, it’s a natural question: Will the party return for its 2016 convention?
“It’s a little premature,” GOP spokeswoman Kirsten Kukowski. “I think there’s a little bit of a desire to … make those decisions a little bit later.”

The GOP, like the Democratic Party, hasn’t even begun its process for choosing its convention site. Both parties began a process of picking their 2012 sites in 2010. Republicans chose Tampa that year while Democrats picked Charlotte in 2011.
More than 160 members of the GOP executive committee are scheduled to arrive Wednesday for the three-day gathering. They’ll gather at the NASCAR Hall of Fame for an evening reception hosted by Gov. Pat McCrory.
There they’ll watch a video of the city produced by the Charlotte Chamber. But neither the city, the Chamber nor the Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority are expected to make a formal pitch for the convention.

Chamber President Bob Morgan said they’re waiting for the CRVA’s economic impact study from the Democratic convention. That report is expected this month.
“We need to see that and have a conversation,” Morgan said.
Organizers estimated an economic impact of around $150 million. But the cost of putting on the event were large as well.
The host committee for the Democratic convention struggled to raise money for the event. As of October, it had fallen $12.5 million short of its $36.6 million goal.
New reports are due this month.

Even More Interesting, Why Did the Democrats Choose Charlotte? While the Democrats and Obama PRETEND to Champion Climate Change - Their ACTIONS SPEAK MUCH LOUDER Than Words

Video From Democracy Now

Published on Sep 4, 2012 by democracynow
DemocracyNow.org - Duke Energy, the nation's largest utility, has played a major role in bringing the Democratic National Convention to Charlotte, North Carolina. Duke has a lot riding on future policies governing coal, nuclear energy and climate change, regardless of who wins November's election. The company has partly been successful in fighting off federal regulations thanks to its ties to the American Legislative Exchange Council, or ALEC, reportedly sponsoring ALEC's meetings and bankrolled its attacks on clean energy legislation. We discuss Duke Energy's growing political influence with Monica Embrey, the North Carolina organizer for Greenpeace USA; and Beth Henry, a local activist in Charlotte raising awareness about Duke Energy and its ties to the Democratic National Convention

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Sept. 4 (Bloomberg) -- Companies including Bank of America Corp. and Wells Fargo & Co. have contributed $20 million toward the cost of the Democratic National Convention, helping fund an event that Democrats initially said wouldn’t accept corporate money, according to two people familiar with the matter.
Organizers of this year’s convention in Charlotte, North Carolina, turned to corporations after the city’s host committee struggled to reach its $36.7 million fundraising goal, according to the people, who requested anonymity.

Energy Policy

Last year, the Charlotte host committee set up a separate entity called New American City Inc., to take corporate cash and to which Bank of America and Wells Fargo contributed, according to the people. The two banks were on a list of corporate donors released Sept. 1 by the host committee that also named AT&T Inc., US Airways Group Inc., Duke Energy Corp. and the law-and- lobbying firm McGuireWoods LLP.
After saying in February 2011 they wouldn’t take corporate money, Democratic Party leaders and convention organizers have grappled with how to cover the estimated $52 million cost of the event, which will culminate Sept. 6 in President Barack Obama’s renomination acceptance speech.
Duke Energy Chief Executive Officer Jim Rogers, co-chairman of the host committee, “has said that he secured $10 million to $11 million from local corporations from Charlotte,” said Tom Williams, a spokesman for Duke. “He has been working hard to build on those numbers to bring in money” for the convention, Williams said

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Duke Energy Corp. is on the hook for $7.9 million after Charlotte fundraisers were unable to raise enough money for September’s Democratic National Convention. Oct 17, 2012

Climate Change is really social justice

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Nuclear ALEC Member DUKE ENERGY Funds DNC 2012

Duke Energy and Large Corporations Fund the DNC2012

Published on Sep 4, 2012 by democracynow
DemocracyNow.org - Duke Energy, the nation's largest utility, has played a major role in bringing the Democratic National Convention to Charlotte, North Carolina. Duke has a lot riding on future policies governing coal, nuclear energy and climate change, regardless of who wins November's election. The company has partly been successful in fighting off federal regulations thanks to its ties to the American Legislative Exchange Council, or ALEC, reportedly sponsoring ALEC's meetings and bankrolled its attacks on clean energy legislation. We discuss Duke Energy's growing political influence with Monica Embrey, the North Carolina organizer for Greenpeace USA; and Beth Henry, a local activist in Charlotte raising awareness about Duke Energy and its ties to the Democratic National Convention

Democracy Now discusses how the ALEC member, Nuclear Duke Energy Supports the DNC

How much did companies give toward cost of Democratic National Convention?

Sept. 4 (Bloomberg) -- Companies including Bank of America Corp. and Wells Fargo & Co. have contributed $20 million toward the cost of the Democratic National Convention, helping fund an event that Democrats initially said wouldn’t accept corporate money, according to two people familiar with the matter.
Organizers of this year’s convention in Charlotte, North Carolina, turned to corporations after the city’s host committee struggled to reach its $36.7 million fundraising goal, according to the people, who requested anonymity.

Energy Policy

Last year, the Charlotte host committee set up a separate entity called New American City Inc., to take corporate cash and to which Bank of America and Wells Fargo contributed, according to the people. The two banks were on a list of corporate donors released Sept. 1 by the host committee that also named AT&T Inc., US Airways Group Inc., Duke Energy Corp. and the law-and- lobbying firm McGuireWoods LLP.
After saying in February 2011 they wouldn’t take corporate money, Democratic Party leaders and convention organizers have grappled with how to cover the estimated $52 million cost of the event, which will culminate Sept. 6 in President Barack Obama’s renomination acceptance speech.
Duke Energy Chief Executive Officer Jim Rogers, co-chairman of the host committee, “has said that he secured $10 million to $11 million from local corporations from Charlotte,” said Tom Williams, a spokesman for Duke. “He has been working hard to build on those numbers to bring in money” for the convention, Williams said

This DNC 2012 was ALWAYS DESTINED TO FAIL but their enthusiasm and attendance continues to be a problem for the failed Democrat candidate Barack Obama.

‘Rain or Shine’
The Obama campaign has insisted that possible severe weather won’t force them to move Obama’s acceptance indoors from the larger outdoor location of Bank of America Stadium, home of the National Football League’s Carolina Panthers.
“It will be there rain or shine,” Ben LaBolt, Obama’s campaign spokesman, told reporters yesterday in Charlotte.
Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx, co-chairman of the host committee with Duke’s Rogers, said while the group has had difficulties in raising money, the event will be fine. How much did companies give toward cost of Democratic National Convention?

And ONE DAY LATER

Democrats set to move Obama's big speech from 74,000-seater outdoor stadium to 20,000-seater indoor arena

Democrats are poised to avoid the danger of President Barack Obama accepting his party’s nomination before a partially-empty stadium by shifting his speech to an indoor arena and citing ‘severe weather’.

The Obama campaign have been working desperately to ensure that the 74,000-seater Bank of America stadium in Charlotte would be filled.

The 20 percent chance of rain is cited by the campaign for the move.

Other items to consider as reasons for prominent Democrats to skip the convention.

Where is Al Gore and mention of the Global Warming?

#dnc2012 #obama #obamaganda #democrats #failedconvention #barackobama #obamabiden2012 #alec #nuclearenergy #coal

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